Blu Shots
by Wherever Girl
Summary: Want to hear the true 'Blu' versions of your classic fairytales? Then read on. Note: Will also include stories from Three Boys, Three Problems.
1. The True Tale of Red Riding Hood

**Hey, readers! I come baring a new story for your enjoyment.**

**After re-reading my "Blu meets the Boys" fic, I developed a new plot… well, several, actually… and decided to write a fic containing one-shots about the fairytale characters- which I shall refer to as "Blu-Shots", since they'll mostly involve her versions of classic fairytales, her past, and whatever else pops into my mind. I will also include a few one-shots about the Three Boys.**

**Please read and enjoy, and if you have any requests, I'm open.**

**Disclaimer: All the fairytales that are about to be revised do not belong to me. Only Blu and the Boys.**

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Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Red Riding Hood, who went to the forest to deliver a basket of goodies to her grandmother-

Hold it. That's not how the story begins. THIS is how it begins:

Once upon a time, a girl named Blu had to sit in the kitchen, listening to her cousin Red complain. "But _Mom_, I've got plans today!" she whined, her pitch making my ear-drums throb. "I'm going to go visit Jack, and Peter and I were going to hang out in this pickle-patch, and-"

"Not another word, Red." My aunt said, sternly. "I told you, Grandma twisted her ankle on her last ski-trip, and it would be nice if you went and saw her. Your father is at his Lumberjack Convention, and I have to go pick up Goldilocks."

"But-"

"Her house is only up the path. Just drop off that basket of pastries I made for her, and I'll come pick you up later." she then turned to me. "And, Blu, I want you to go with her."

"What?" Red and I both snapped.

"How come I have to go with her?" I demanded.

"What makes you think I need to be escorted by her in the first place?" Red sneered.

"First of all, Blu, Grandma would love for you to visit her, too." My aunt said, then turned to Red. "And I'm sending her with you to make sure you don't wander off."

Red scoffed. "Why would I wander off in the middle of the woods?"

"Because of some stud you might spot taking a hike?" I joked, earning a glare from Red.

"Just do Grandma this favor. She hasn't seen either of you for a long time, and you're both her favorite granddaughters."

Both? She meant _me_. I visited Grandma more times than Red, and I listen to all the stories she tells us better than anyone else (even IF she tells them over a thousand times). I rolled my eyes and nudged Red. "C'mon, lets just go." I muttered.

"Ugh, why does bad stuff ALWAYS have to happen to me?" Red complained, pulling on her red cloak and grabbing the basket.

_Bad stuff? Try watching your parents burn in a blazing fire and have yourself wind up with a brat-cousin, and THEN tell me your life is bad! _I thought, scowling. Pulling on my blue sweater, I followed my cousin out the door.

It was a crisp fall morning, leaves falling as we walked down the trail, Red texting on her cell-phone, sending 20 IMs with each step. She always has her cell-phone on her everywhere she goes. Her parents had bought it for her 13th birthday this year, saying she should only use it for emergencies… though, like any other prep girl, she uses it for everything else- especially if it includes gossip, guys, or gossip about guys.

I don't have a cell-phone, namely because I don't want one. Why? Because I find it annoying enough having a house-phone interrupt my life. A cell phone would render someone capable of having their peace disturbed no matter where they went, being forced to pay bills, having to climb trees to get a decent signal, and nowadays it's like a little tracking device stalkers can bug so they could find you.

I once told this to Red when she teased me about not having a cell-phone, but she only said: "You just need the right kind of phone, and to be careful who you give your number to." …This from the girl who gave her number to a random guy at the mall.

"Can we rest a minute? My feet are killing me," she said, sitting down on a rock.

"Maybe you should have put on sneakers rather than stilettos." I commented, referring to her high-heel shoes.

"I would have, but none of them went with my outfit."

I shook my head. "C'mon, Grandma's house isn't too far. You can rest once we get there,"

She groaned, standing back up. "I hate walking…" she then looked off to the left. "Why don't we just take a short-cut through the woods?"

I gave her a look. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"No, really, look." she pointed ahead. "The path curves up ahead to the left, and Grandma's house is halfway down the bend. If we take a shortcut, we'll get there quicker and save time- let alone save ourselves from foot-aches."

"Didn't you hear what happened to the LAST kid who decided to take a stroll through the woods? He ended up as an ogre's hors d'oeuvre."

"Pfft. That's only because he wasn't watching where he was going." …She was saying this while texting. "Now, c'mon."

Before I could protest further, she was already walking through the woods. Knowing my aunt and uncle would kill me if I let their daughter get eaten alive (rather than thank me for relieving them of such a burden), I followed her, shaking my head. _This is going to end badly. _I thought.

We walked through the trees, stepping on dead leaves. The wind blew, making the leaves dance, making a soft whispering sound as it passed through the tree-tops, the morning sky seeming to darken with every foot we stepped away from the trail. …It was like something out of an old Halloween special, only rather than sitting on the sofa, preparing myself on what kind of mishap the movie-characters would get themselves into, I was the one stuck in this situation. And, to tell the truth, I was feeling a little creeped out.

It wasn't just because the scenery was growing dark, everything seemed too quiet, and I realized I had allowed my idiot-cousin to lead us from the safety of the trail, but because of what kind of creatures were lying in wait, preparing to strike. We had a lot of wild animals in Fairytale Land, along with an even number of mythical monsters.

And, after hearing a rustling sound coming from behind a dead bush, I had a feeling we were about to run into one of them. "Hold it, Red, did you hear that?" I asked, grabbing the cape of her cloak and making her stop.

"What?" She asked.

"It came from the bushes."

*rustle rustle* came the noise again.

Red gulped. "It's… probably just a raccoon or something," she said, turning to proceed, but I held her still.

"Or, it could be something bigger- and nastier- than some rodent. I suggest we go back to the trail," I retorted.

She looked around. "Uh, one problem… where IS the trail?"

I froze, realizing my second mistake of the day: I followed RED through the woods, casually looking at the eerie scenery while I allowed the dimwit to lead us around, taking different turns rather than walking straight. (note to self: never go anywhere with Red ever again).

"Ah, shit!" I snapped. "We're stuck in the middle of the woods!"

"Why don't we just ask for directions?" Red asked.

I swear, my cousin is so stupid… "Who are we going to ask, a squirrel?"

"I could show you the way back to the path," a voice came. Red and I looked over, where we had heard the rustling sound from the bush. Out stepped a wolf with gray fur and black hair, green eyes, wearing a red shirt with blue jeans. "Hi, I'm Wolf. Are you two lost?"

"Of course not!" Red piped up before I could say anything. "We just took a wrong turn. We'll be on our way…"

"Are you sure you guys don't need directions? Where are you going, anyway?"

"We're going to my grandma's house. It's located south-east down the path- oof!"

"Don't tell him where she lives, idiot!" I hissed after elbowing Red in the ribs. First, she gets us lost, and now she's blurting out information to a stranger? How dumb could she get?

"Oh, Old Lady Hood? I know where she lives," Wolf said.

I arched an eyebrow. "You… know her?"

"Sort of. She offered me some cookies last week. All the woodland creatures know her, she's very kind to all of us-"

"Yeah, yeah, can you just take us to her house?" Red scoffed.

"Namely give us directions?" I clarified. Just because a wolf seems nice doesn't mean they're least likely to lead you into a trap.

"Sure. Her house is just east from here." Wolf replied. We started walking… and he began to follow. "So, what's in the basket?"

"Pastries. Grandma twisted her heel, so my mom sent us to give her a treat to help her feel better," Red replied, then muttered out of the corner of her mouth: "Would've been easier to just mail her a frickin' Get-Well card,"

"Why are you following us?" I asked Wolf, knowing that Red was too much of a dip-shit to notice.

"Well, I don't meet many humans out in the woods, and I thought it would be nice to just walk in talk. …I'm not bothering you, am I?" Wolf replied.

"You're not as annoying as my obnoxious cousin, if that's what you mean." Red replied, then began to text again. Geez.

"Nice cell phone. Who are you talking to?"

"Just my friend, Jill. She said her boyfriend, Jack, fell down the hill and has a concussion." she then rubbed her chin. "I wonder if he forgot who she was, then I'd have a date for Thursday night."

Wolf arched an eyebrow. "Isn't it a little sleazy to be stealing someone else's boyfriend?"

"Believe me, it isn't the nastiest thing she's ever done." I scoffed.

"Ah. …You know, if you don't have plans for Thursday, maybe we could hang out."

Red froze. "Ew! Are you coming on to me? Gross!" she then grabbed my wrist and began pulling me along, running. "C'mon, Blu, lets ditch this hairball!"

"Wait, no! I didn't mean like that!" I heard Wolf calling, running after us.

"Oh, shit, he's chasing us! Run!" She let go of my hand, going into a sprint…

…dropping the basket…

…which I tripped over. "Oof!" I grunted once I hit the ground, and looked ahead to see Red still running. "Red, wait up!" A shadow fell over me, and I turned around, gasping when I saw Wolf standing behind me, on his hind legs, looking down at me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling down and reaching his paw out to help me up. I got up on my own. "I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean to freak you guys out,"

"Maybe you'd be less freaky if you didn't ask so many damn questions,"

He cringed. "No need to cuss… And I'm sorry about the questioning. I tend to get a bit curious about humans, like any animal would."

"Yeah, well… Curiosity slayed the sorcerer." I then took off.

"Hey, wait! You forgot your-"

The rest of his words grew faint as I ran through the woods, finally reaching Grandma's house… where I saw Red, Grandma, and my uncle (Red's dad) standing on the front porch. "Uncle Hood? I thought you were at a convention!"

"I was, but after hearing that Grandma twisted her ankle, I decided to come home early," he replied, and gave Grandma a stern look. "I TOLD you not to do any extreme stunts in your condition!"

"Bah! Just because I'm old doesn't mean I have a condition!" My grandma sneered.

"Anyway, I just pulled up when Red came running out of the woods, screaming about some wolf stalking her."

"It was awful, Daddy! He was trying to put the moves on me!" Red sobbed.

Godmother, she's so dramatic.

"He wasn't putting the moves on her. He was just-" I began to say, but was interrupted.

"Hey, you dropped your basket-" Wolf said as he ran out of the bushes.

"THERE HE IS, DADDY! THAT'S HIM! KEEP HIM AWAY!" Red screamed… much to my ears' displeasure.

My uncle took out his axe, glowering at Wolf. "I suggest you stay away from my daughter, you twisted fur-ball!" he said, firmly yet threateningly.

"Yipe!" Wolf yelped, dropping the basket and taking off into the woods.

"Oh, put that ax away, boy!" My Grandma sneered. "Wolf is completely harmless," she turned to Red. "I suggest you get your stories straight before you send someone out to commit homicide, missy."

"Yes, Grandma…" Red said, looking ashamed.

A week later, though…

The press surrounded Red in the living room, asking her questions about her 'wolf attack'. "Red! Red! Can you tell us exactly what happened after you fled to your grandma's house?" One interviewer asked.

"Well, I went into her house, and that's when I realized that big bad wolf had gotten there, first!" Red replied, fake-tears rolling down her face. "He had trapped her in the closet and dressed up like her, trying to fool me. But I could tell it wasn't him- his eyes were too big, along with his sharp teeth and large paws, and his stomach kept rumbling every time I got near him!"

I stood at the top of the stairs, shaking my head. "That's NOT what happened." I called down.

"Hey, kid, we're interviewing Red Riding Hood. Beat it!" Another interviewer sneered at me, then turned to Red. "Say, Miss Red, would you mind if I sent your story to the Grimm Brothers?"

I rolled my eyes and walked out of the house, seeing Wolf watching everything through the window. "You again? Godmother, are you going to keep stalking us forever?"

Wolf gasped, ducking down. "Jeez, don't DO that!" he said, whispering. "You nearly gave me a heart-attack!"

I walked up and grabbed him by the shirt-collar, glowering. "I'm going to do WORSE if you don't state your business. Why do you keep following us?"

He blushed… I didn't know wolves could do that. "I-It's kind of personal…"

"Tell me, or I'll have my uncle come back out with his axe."

"Alright, alright!" he took a deep breath, and sighed. "I sorta, kinda… have a crush on your cousin, Red."

I arched an eyebrow. "Wolf-say-what-now?"

"I know, it sounds weird- a wolf crushing on a human. But… I was walking by your house one day when I saw her step out, and my heart raced at the sight of her. She's so gorgeous… I've been watching her from a distance each night- I know it sounds creepy, but I couldn't help myself. I was too entranced by her beauty."

I think I'm going to vomit.

"I wanted to talk to her when I first saw her, but I was too nervous. I finally managed to build up the courage to talk to her when I met you guys last week… then…"

"She had a major freak-out, and now she's telling reporters how the 'Big Bad Wolf' was chasing after her."

Wolf's eyes widened. "She thinks… I'M bad? Huh. Everyone else thinks I'm a sissy."

"Judging from your outfit, I wouldn't doubt it."

He looked down at his outfit: a button-up suit-shirt with a pair of brown pants. "I guess I ought to work on my image a little more…"

"Undoubtedly." I turned to go back inside. "If I were you, I'd scram before one of those reporters spots you."

"Good idea… I could see the headlines now: 'Big Bad Stalker breaks into house and tries to devour family- Blonde-haired girl chases him out with flame-thrower."

I scoffed a chuckle, shaking my head. "You're such a queer." With that, I walked back into the house.

I saw Wolf now and again each time I was in the woods, and he would always ask about Red- after she filed a restraining order. The more we hung out, the more I could tell he wasn't such a 'big bad' wolf, though he tried to act like one to impress Red.

What he saw in her, I will never know.

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**A/N: Well, hope you liked the first one-shot. More will come later!**

**Please review. No flames, or I'll chase after you with an axe.**


	2. Either Forgive or Fail to Move On

**Here's another one-shot! Note: this one takes place during the story "Blu meets the Boys".**

**As always, I'm open to suggestions!**

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Jimmy Krook couldn't get to sleep, and decided to step out on the balcony for some fresh air. He didn't find it surprising, since he hadn't been able to sleep for the past couple of weeks. So much had happened since then, from running into a mad sorcerer to being changed into a werewolf, with different kinds of danger mixed in, and he had been bracing himself for the next shock.

But, the sorcerer was vanquished, and the last of everyone's troubles were over with. …Well, almost everyone's. Radio was now a cat-Furry, Jimmy was still half-werewolf, and they had a lot of explaining to do to Rudy's parents once they woke up to see Danny's long-lost aunt show up out of nowhere_. Meh, we'll deal with it later. _he told himself. They were leaving in the morning anyway, despite the departure seemed hasty. _I just want to get out of here and back home, where I can hang out, be with Silver without some creep attacking us, and get as far away as I can from-_

"Can't sleep?" a voice asked, and Jimmy turned around to see Robin Hood standing in the doorway.

"What do YOU want?" Jimmy sneered. He didn't like Robin very much, and he had his reasons.

"I was heading to my room when I saw you step out here. Something on your mind?"

"Nothing I'd like to talk to YOU about,"

Robin shrugged. "Hey, whatever you have in mind, you can keep to yourself. I won't intrude," he stepped beside Jimmy, looking over the balcony at the forest.

Jimmy ignored him, looking up at the stars. It was a clear night and peaceful, and he realized he hadn't paid much attention to the beautiful nights Fairytale Land- namely because his own life was at stake. It was a quiet night, too… which he hated, knowing that the silence always caused him to think.

And he began to think about Robin, how the thief showed remorse for what he had done in the past, which nearly caused Jimmy to get killed… okay, so it wasn't EXACTLY Robin's fault, since Jimmy had lived a hardcore life and let his mouth get himself in trouble by himself. But, if it wasn't for Robin's mistake, life would have been different.

"So, you knew my mom, huh?" Jimmy found himself asking, not looking at the thief. "How did you guys meet?"

Robin shrugged. "I was exploring the outside world, and happened to run into her at a store. I didn't know much about the land outside of Fairytale Land, and she took pity on me, thinking I had some sort of mental disability, and decided to help me out." he replied.

Jimmy had to hold back a laugh.

"Later, I convinced her of my average intelligence, deciding not to bring up Fairytale Land and have her label me as a complete nutcase."

"Too late," Jimmy said out of the corner of his mouth.

"She was quite a nice woman. Always caring and understanding, never critical or cruel, and was always willing to help those in need. Her sisters were quite kind, too, although they always had a negative comment in store… It was amazing how well your mother could ignore them, especially how they talked about her."

"What did they say?"

Robin shrugged. "Mostly how she always had her nose stuck in a book, always daydreaming about seeing new places and exploring new horizons… always lost in her own little world." he looked at Jimmy. "It wasn't just her sisters, but the whole town- the only person who didn't judge her was her father." he looked away, sighing. "I found it incredible how she could deal with their criticism and keep a cool head. I guess that's what I liked most about her- she had a sense of control."

Jimmy began to think back, to when his mother was alive… how his step-dad would strike her, but she wouldn't retaliate. At first, Jimmy thought she was too scared, but after listening to Robin, he realized that she was just being the wise, level-headed one… whereas he himself would lash out at the man.

"I felt bad for leaving her, you know." Jimmy looked at Robin, a hint of a glare in his eyes. "It's just… when she told me about her pregnancy, I didn't know what to do. She had so many dreams ahead of her, and I felt that they were going to be tossed aside because she'd be busy with raising you. I couldn't bare the guilt and just ran away." he looked at Jimmy straight in the eye. "I don't expect you to forgive me for leaving your mother- I can't even forgive myself… and I know that my wife, Marian, is going to go into conniptions once I tell her-"

"Don't tell her." Jimmy said, sharply.

Robin arched an eyebrow. "What?"

Jimmy looked back up at the stars. "You caused my mother grief when you left… there's no excuse to cause Marian some, too." He then turned and headed for the door. "Just learn from it, and don't blow your next relationship."

Robin nodded, keeping his back turned on Jimmy. "You know… if I never left, Silver would probably still be under a curse."

Jimmy paused, listening to what Robin had to say.

"If I didn't leave, your mother never would have fallen for Silver, and he wouldn't have known about you… If you think about it, it's as if I was meant to leave for a reason- so he could be human once more."

"Wow." Jimmy said, shaking his head. "That's a ton of fairytale bullshit."

Robin shrugged. "Call it what you want,"

Jimmy walked back inside, down the hall, and lied down in bed. He was sharing a room with Silver, looking over at his foster-dad… or, as he preferred to call him, his_ real _dad… letting out a heavy sigh. He couldn't help but think about Robin's words- no matter how lame they sounded- and realized he had a point… despite how much he despised it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Robin lied down on the sofa, drifting to sleep. _Quite a son you had, Ashley. _he thought, looking out the window at the stars. _…Makes me even more guilty that I didn't stick around to watch him grow up._

Guilt continued to linger in his gut. He wasn't lying when he told Jimmy how wonderful his mother was, and his guilt only grew. She had so much ahead of her, and he just screwed it up for her, abandoning her completely when she told him she was pregnant.

To make it worse, she ended up marrying some creep, fell ill, and had Jimmy wind up on the streets and become a thug… all because he wasn't there to help her out, to tend to her needs, to help her take care of the young boy who needed a male role-model. He didn't only hurt his friend's feelings, but he ruined life for both Ashley and Jimmy… and his guilt made his stomach churn.

_If only I could go back… _he thought. _I'd help her out, despite the paradox of Prince John ruling the land and Silver remaining cursed… _His guilt nagged at him again, knowing it wouldn't be fair to Silver or the people who suffered under John's reign. He sighed, heavily. _I guess, no matter what I chose, someone would still end up hurt._

He paused his thoughts then, sensing someone in the room. Everything was so still and quiet, he found it impossible that anyone could have entered the room without his knowing… unless it was a ghost or a ninja- the ghost being the most logical, since he knew there weren't many ninjas in Fairytale Land. He was about to look over his shoulder to see what caused a soundless disturbance…

"I forgive you," a voice whispered.

Robin looked over to see who spoke to him, but whoever it was, they had already left the room.

Still, he had a good idea on who it was.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Jimmy lied back down in bed, resting his head on his pillow and finally able to drift to sleep.

He never saw Robin again after that.

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**A/N: I felt there was something missing from the story, so after I found out what it was, I decided to put it in as a one-shot… anyway, suggestions?**


	3. Strength of Control

**Well, here's another one-shot! Hope you enjoy! Read on!**

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It was a quiet afternoon in Fairytale Land, as Blu sat on the couch of Pin's house. They decided to have a little get-together as a celebration for their defeat of the Red Fairy, though the aggressive girl believed Snow White's party was enough and didn't much care about being surrounded by her friends and family at the moment. She just wanted some solitude after the long week she's had, to be just in a room by herself.

She saw Pin shooting the breeze with that kid, Jack of the Beanstalk, watching as he comforted the boy after Tom Thumb's decease. Jack and Tom were life-long friends, having a bond that no one could describe… a bond that was broken when Tom was squished. Red then stepped over, linking arms with Jack, saying something to him- though Blu figured it had to do with getting his mind off Tom, and in more than a 'comforting' way. Jack just shook his head and walked away, and Red trudged off, and Blu knew that she showed no sympathy toward Jack at all. _Bitch. _she thought, and figured Pin was thinking the same thing by the look of his scowl.

Blu focused on Pin, unable to cease from thinking about the kiss he planted on her lips back on the balcony at Snow's party. Four years ago, she would have punched him so hard in the mouth, he'd have to get false teeth… yet, during that brief embrace, no such thought crossed her mind. Rather, her mind went blank, blocking out all her other emotions except her feelings towards her friend.

Even though she didn't exactly 'fall in love' with him, it still made her heart skip a beat knowing that he cared deeply for her… even loved her. Unlike all the other men in town, he was the only one who looked past her rugged nature and saw the beauty within. _Ah, great, a "Beauty and the Beast" reference… _she thought critically, thinking about that last statement.

Not only did he love her, but he respected her as well. She could tell this that night, when she had returned to the land, they almost made love, but Pin stopped himself from getting into the act of lust, not wanting to take advantage of her in chances that he may hurt her- especially since they were just reunited after four years! Any other man would have leaped at the chance of sleeping with the woman of their desires… but Pin wasn't that kind of man. Having been a puppet, he learned right from wrong- and still lived from his experiences to this day. He was stronger than any man, to control himself.

_Lets just see how strong he is. _Blu thought, after reminiscing about their experiences from this week. "Hey, Pin, mind if I talk to you in private?" she asked him.

"Sure, what do you need?" Pin asked, following her into an empty room of his house.

She sat down on the bed. "There's something I'd like to try… If you want."

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"Ergn!"

"Ugh!"

"Mmf!"

"Ungh!"

"Gah!"

"Oomph!"

"(gasp pant) Hrrkgh…"

"Nngh! (puff puff)"

The party had quieted down… just in time to hear the noise coming from a bedroom down the hall. Red, Goldie, Robin, and Wolf stood by the door, their eyes wide… though Robin had Goldie's ears covered. "Good Godmother… what are they DOING in there?" Wolf asked, horrified.

"Probably more than I've done in a month," Red said, shocked as well.

"Well… I guess love has quite an impact on those who least expect it." Robin commented, a bit of awkwardness in his voice.

"Why can't I listen?" Goldie demanded.

"You're too young," Red replied.

"What?"

"Man… how long are they going to keep at it?" Wolf asked, cringing at the next grunt.

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_Three Hours Later…_

Blu breathed deeply, looking into Pin's eyes. "I guess you have a lot of skills when it comes to this," she said, sweat dripping off her forehead.

Pin smirked. "I guess I'm not much of a wuss anymore, huh?" he questioned.

She scoffed. "We'll see… How about another go?"

He chuckled. "You're just not going to rest, are you?"

"Not 'til I have you pinned,"

Pin rolled his eyes. "Alright, if you think you can do one more…"

"I KNOW I can. Bring it."

Pin smiled. If he knew Blu, he knew her spirit was a restless one.

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"Oof!"

"Rrrgh!"

"Ungh!"

"Mph!"

Robin, Red, Goldie, and Wolf sit against the wall, mouths agape… Goldie's ears still covered. "Geez, this is their 57th time!" Wolf sneered. "What's he trying to do, put her in a wheel-chair?"

"As masculine as he is, I figured that would have been possible the 7th time," Red replied.

"I hope she's on the pill, or he's wearing a rubber," Robin muttered.

"C'mon, guys! It's been three hours! Can't I listen yet?" Goldie complained.

"NO." The other three replied.

"Say that again?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Pin felt sweat drip from his forehead, breathing heavily. _She's not going to stop… _he thought. With one last breath, he let himself relax…

*BAM!*

…Allowing Blu to pin his arm on the table. "Ha! I told you I could beat you, puppet-boy!" she exclaimed, victoriously.

"Boy, when you said you never give up, you weren't kidding…" he said, panting.

"Alright, you know the bet."

Pin rolled his eyes, then grabbed his pillow and a blanket and walked out of the room, seeing the others. "About time you guys finished! …Hey, where are you going?" Wolf asked.

"I'm sleeping on the couch tonight," Pin replied with a sigh.

"How come?" Goldie asked, now able to listen again.

He shrugged. "She just knows how to tire me out,"

Everyone gawked, then looked back into the room, seeing Blu lying on the bed, a satisfied grin on her face. "I have GOT to get tips from her," Red said.

"About what? What was going on?" Goldie asked.

"I think it's best that we didn't say," Robin said, and they began to leave.

Wolf watched them go, then looked back at Blu. _Man, that girl is a warrior in more ways than one! _he thought, then left.

Blu shut her eyes, chuckling to herself. Pin was strong, she knew… but SHE was stronger.

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**A/N: …While the others were scarred for life XD**

**Alright, you read, now review, send suggestions, don't flame… think you can handle that?**


	4. Journal of a Beast

**And now, to help me ease into the evening, another Blu-shot.**

**Reviewer Thanks (At Last)**

**Elizabeth: **As you recommended, here's some recognition to your reviews! Anyway… Lol, to tell the truth, I actually got the idea of that one-shot from an "Inuyasha" fan-art comic XD And (referring to your other review), when I said Jimmy wasn't going to see Robin again, that did NOT mean I wasn't going to write a sequel! (bite your tongue, and blow up your road-roller for such a thought!) …Glad you're liking this! :D

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_It all started when an old man asked for a place to stay after getting lost in the woods._

_I knocked him out and threw him into the dungeon._

_A couple days later, three women came along, looking for their father. How they managed to find my castle, I'll never know. Perhaps it was dumb luck… or, as some sap would describe it, fate._

_They took one look at me and freaked out. Two of them screamed bloody murder at the sight of my monstrous features (go figure) but the third seemed the most calm. They begged for their father's release, offering to pay me, never tell anyone of me, yadda yadda and other stuff I didn't care about. Once I had a prisoner, there was no bargaining with me._

_However, the third one made an offer I couldn't turn down- to take her father's place and stay in my castle forever, as long as I didn't harm her sisters or father. Despite her family's protests, we made the deal._

_Normally, I don't negotiate easily, but I was willing to make an exception._

_It had been a while since I had a woman in my presence…_

_Especially if she could be the one to break the spell._

_Her name was Ashley Krook._

**Day 1**

I could tell right away Ashley didn't like me. I could deal with that.

I shoved her sisters and her father out the door. "No, please spare my daughter/Let her come with us!/We don't want to leave her!" they whined.

"Deal with it," I snapped. "And I suggest, unless you want to take her home in pieces, you keep my whereabouts unknown, GOT IT?"

They all sobbed and kept begging…

*SLAM!*

…Then I slammed the door in their faces.

I turned to one of my servants. They were as cursed as I was, only have transformed into vampires: pale skin, dark hair, vicious gazes, turning into bats, fangs… the whole works. The one who stood before me was male, and a husband to one of my female servants. "Make sure they leave, and never find the way back, Leonard." I ordered him.

"Yes, sire." he said to me, then in a poof of smoke, vanished.

I began walking up the steps. Following me were two of Leonard's kids- boys, both twins, maybe ten- called Derek and Drake. "What are you going to do with the girl, master?" Derek- or Drake, I couldn't tell- asked me.

"Are you going to keep her locked up in the dungeon and torture her?" The other twin asked.

"No, Derek."

"I'm Drake!"

"Whatever. I'm not going to torture her,"

"You should let her stay in one of the rooms, too." Derek suggested. "Women hate staying in rooms with rats. That way she doesn't think of you as a big bully!" I scowled at him for that last remark.

"Nah, that's ridiculous. He should keep her in the dungeon until she decides to fall in love with him!" Drake scoffed.

"Nuh-uh! Mom says that a woman has to LEARN to love him to break the spell! You can't force it!"

"Says who?"

"Says the guy who cast the spell!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Aren't you two supposed to be babysitting your sister?" I snapped at them. I couldn't stand them arguing.

"Izzy!" They both gasped, then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Rolling my eyes, I continued my way to the dungeon, seeing Ashley on her knees, sobbing into her hands. Next to the twins' arguing, I couldn't stand to see women cry- it made me gag. "C'mon, I'll show you to your room,"

"You're… giving me a room?" she asked, sounding shocked.

"Would you rather stay in the dungeon? The rats love company,"

She sneered at me, standing up. "I'll take the room."

"Figured so," I lead her out of the dungeon and down the hallway, leading her down the stairs. Feeling generous, I decided to give her a tour. "Over there is the foyer, and the hallway across from it leads to the dining room. We have at least 25 bathrooms, so there's at least five on every floor." …I was kind of hoping that last one would crack her up a bit, but she remained silent. (Women have no sense of humor). "Anyway, the entire castle is yours to explore. …Just stay away from the west wing."

"Why?"

I glared at her. "Because I said so." She bit her bottom lip, cringing. I sighed, shaking my head. "C'mon, this way." I lead her to a room five doors down the hall. "If you need anything, my servants will attend you- by the way, they're vampires, so keep your neck covered." She gave me a stunned look, and I rolled my eyes. "That was a joke. …Still, you'd better do it, just to be safe."

"Psst!" came a whisper, and I looked over, seeing the twins. "Ask her to dinner!"

I gave them a look.

"C'mon, suave-ay, you can do it!" Derek or Drake said.

"Yeah, lay on the charm. Sweet talk her!" the other one added.

I turned to Ashley. "So… Dinner's in fifteen minutes. Be there." I said firmly, then shut the door.

The twins slapped their foreheads and shook their heads. "Real smooth," they told me, sarcastically.

"I'm afraid I'll have to agree with the boys on this one, Jonathan." Another voice came, and I turned to see the twins' mother, Jocelyn. In her arms was a baby girl, maybe 8 months, undoubtedly Izzy. "If you want the girl to warm up to you, it would be best if you actually ATTEMPTED to be more of a gentleman."

"Hey, I'm just saying she should come to dinner," I scoffed. "If she doesn't want to eat with me, then she can starve,"

"Oh, THAT'S gonna win her heart," The twins sneered. I snarled at them, and they disappeared in the puff of smoke.

Jocelyn sighed. "At least let her get used to the castle, first. Her family's gone, and- undoubtedly- she's never seen mythical creatures like ourselves." I scowled, crossing my arms and turning away. "At least let ME have a word with her and try to calm her nerves. She'll be more comfortable if someone-"

"Yeah, yeah, have at it." I muttered, walking off. "I'll be in my room."

I stormed off. So far, nothing was going my way, and I easily get pissed when nothing goes my way. I headed up to the west wing of the castle… my room, and the one place no one, not even my most loyal servants, were allowed to go without my say so. Why? Well, for one thing, it's my ROOM.

It was a mess right now, with junk thrown everywhere, old photos of myself torn to shreds, and a hand-mirror sitting on a nightstand near my balcony. It wasn't exactly an ordinary mirror- it was enchanted, giving me the ability to show me anything I wanted, the only way to see the world outside my castle (sadly, though, it didn't give me HBO. Damn). "Show me Leonard," I said to it.

An image of Leonard driving Ashley's parents back to town, all of them blindfolded (except Leonard, you idiot). _Good, at least it'll keep an angry mob off my doorstep. _I thought.

I couldn't help but think about Ashley next, wondering what Jocelyn was saying to her. Naturally, I decided to eavesdrop (another handy use for the magic-mirror). "Show me the girl,"

An image of Ashley and Jocelyn appeared, then. "Don't be so upset with my master," Jocelyn was coaxing. "He's just had… issues, in the past. He's really nice once you get to know him!"

"I don't care!" Ashley snapped, tears in her eyes. "Thanks to him, I'm stuck here, I'll never see my family again, and I'll have to…" she paused, then began to bawl. "I just want to go home,"

_Man, do women ALWAYS get emotional when they're prisoners in a castle? _I thought. Sighing, I set the mirror down, shaking my head. "Why do I even bother?" I muttered to myself. "She's never going to see me as anything more than a monster… just like everyone else." I walked over to my bed, lying on it.

It was hopeless. I mean, who'd fall in love with a werewolf?

**Day 2**

I woke up the next morning, looking out the window. Fall had hit, the leaves floating to the ground and there was a chill in the air- damn it, did I leave the balcony doors open? I got up (shutting the doors, first) then grabbed the mirror. "Show me the girl," I asked in a half-yawn, wondering if the dame was still having a tear-fest.

I was surprised to see an image of her vomiting into a toilet. _Probably cried so much, her own stomach couldn't take it. _I thought, then sat the mirror down before I started puking.

I walked down the hallway, seeing the twins standing by one of the bathrooms… hearing the gagging noises, it was an easy guess that it was Ashley's. "What's wrong with her?" I asked them, giving them a hard glance. "Did one of you two put something in her food?"

"Huh-uh, she hasn't even eaten," Derek or Drake said.

"She's been vomiting since early this morning." The other double said. "Mom says she might have caught the flu or something."

I made a face. "Yeesh. I hope I don't catch it," I commented.

The door opened and Ashley walked out. "I thought I heard voices," she said, then gave me a bitter look. "What do you want?"

"I saw- I mean, I heard you vomiting. You sick or something?"

She covered her mouth, turning green, then ran back into the bathroom, performing another symphony of throw-ups. She then walked back out. "You could say that…"

"Uh, huh. …Well… Make sure you don't spread it to anyone else."

She scowled at me. "Trust me, I won't." With that, she walked off, back to her room.

"Smooth," Drake or Derek said to me, sarcastically.

"REAL smoother," The other twin added.

Another snarl from me, and they took off again.

0o0o0o0o0

Later that day, I passed by Ashley in the hall. "Still sick?" I asked, deciding to listen to Jocelyn (for once) and act like a… what was it again? …oh, yeah. I wuss- I mean, a gentleman.

"Not much… if I was in my own home," she muttered in reply.

I sneered.

This dame really needed to change her attitude.

**Day 3**

I believe I entered some sort of alternate universe on the way to lunch today, because Ashley actually decided to dine with me.

…Well, almost, if you count her sitting at the other end of a 20-foot long table being near me. Hey, we were in the same room, weren't we?

But, the most surprising was what all she was having for lunch: chocolate-covered bacon, with a side of salted mashed potatoes, cheese-covered tuna-casserole, and onion-and-spinach soup.

What. The. Hell?

"Geez, you grow up next to a garbage disposal?" I commented.

"Do you have a problem with my eating-habits?" Ashley sneered in reply. "Might as well get used to it, if you're going to have me here,"

_She's really starting to piss me off… _I thought. Seeing a glass of water next to her, I knocked it over with my tail, onto her lap. "Oops." I shrugged innocently. "Clumsy me."

"No problem," I could sense the tension in her voice. "Oh, you have something on your face,"

I wiped my face. "What? Where?"

*Splat!*

She shoved her plate into my face. "There."

I wiped the gunk off my face, only to see that she had already left the room. "Ooh, she's really steamed," A voice said, and I saw Derek or Drake next to me.

"You're really blowing it," The other twin added.

"GET OUTTA HERE!" I growled at them. With a yelp, they were out of my sight. I stormed off, deciding to track down Ashley and give her a piece of my mind, and I saw her not too far down the hall. "What the $&%* is wrong with you, woman?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. I just don't like it when someone acts like a child," she retorted.

"Maybe if you didn't give me attitude, I'd act more 'mature',"

"If you were more hospitable, I wouldn't give you attitude,"

"Well, if you actually gave me a chance, your stay here would be better." I smirked, knowing I had won.

Wrong. "If you weren't such a beast, I'd give you a chance!"

I glowered, stepping toward her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She backed away, and I could see the fear in her eyes. "Well, you…"

"What, you think because I LOOK like this, I'm officially a bad guy. Is THAT it?" I was looming over her, now.

"N-No, I meant…" she stared at me, horror reflecting in her irises.

"You keep staring, so that must be it, right?" I clenched and unclenched my fists.

She tried to run, but I grabbed her wrist. "Let me go!" she began to beat my arm, and kicked me in the shin. "You're hurting me, you monster!"

Ah. So she finally said it.

I glared deeper, raising my paw, claws sticking out. "A monster, am I? Why don't I-" I growled, preparing to strike, but I paused when I saw something in her eyes.

My reflection.

My eyes were red- normally they were yellow- and my fangs were bared, a mad expression on my face… the expression of a maniac. Slowly, I lowered my paw, retracting my claws, and released her.

Quickly, I turned away, and took off.

The twins were right. I WAS blowing it.

**Day 7**

I had spent the rest of the week in my room, staring at my reflection in a broken mirror on the wall. I couldn't eat or sleep… I kept thinking about what I almost did to Ashley. I would never even attempt to strike a woman… so why did I try to do it?

I looked around my room, seeing all the torn pictures and broken furniture. During the first few weeks of being a werewolf, I would break something every time I got angry. Now, just a year later, I nearly harmed a living being… with my new strength, possibly even killed her. Had I let the beast within me contain control?

I shuddered at the thought.

I stepped out onto the balcony, looking down at the courtyard… the cracking, dark concrete, the withered plants, the dirt-patch that used to be a garden… not even a crow or buzzard would come around here. _She'll never like me, now. _I told myself. _She saw me as a monster, and I acted like one… there's no way she'd change her view on me. _Gloom not only affected the scenery, but me as well, especially since I knew it was true. _I'm only kidding myself…_ I stepped onto the railing, looking down at the pavement below, wondering if werewolves could survive a 4-story fall. _I might as well just-_

*Click*

The twisting of a doorknob caught my attention, especially since it was coming from across the room.

MY room.

I stepped back onto the balcony, looking to see who was coming in. I made out two figures: the first one was Ashley, and she was being carried by a man I never saw… who looked as if he never bathed, shaved for weeks, or paid a visit to a dentist. He threw her onto the bed, snickering, then began to rip open her shirt.

You should've seen the look on his face when I roared, leaped at him, and grabbed him by the throat. His eyes were as big as dinner plates, and they stayed that way when I threw him over the balcony-

*Splat!*

…and he landed face-first on the pavement.

I don't know if werewolves could survive that fall, but I had a pretty good bet that he didn't.

"Asshole," I scoffed, looking down at him. "How many people are going to trespass here?"

I walked in, seeing Ashley on my bed, her shirt torn off. If werewolves could blush, I'd be doing it now, and I rubbed the back of my neck. Grabbing a blanket that I hadn't completely torn to shreds, I covered her. Hey, I may be indecent sometimes, but I'm not all that disrespectful.

Leonard and Jocelyn then ran in, out of breath. "Sire, we just heard word of an intruder in the castle," Leonard said. "The news said he was an escaped convict and…" he paused, noticing Ashley at last. "And… and… and… uh…"

"Yeah, I sent the douche-bag over the edge," I said, thumbing toward the balcony. "Throw his body in the woods for the cops to find."

"You… you killed him?" Jocelyn asked, stunned. "What… what made you do it?"

I looked at Ashley, noticing a bump on her head. "Because, he was about to hurt her,"

Jocelyn and Leonard looked at each other, but obeyed my command and ditched the rapist's body. I stayed with Ashley.

I didn't know why I suddenly became protective of her. _I just didn't want some dick screwing her in my bed. _I thought, but I knew it wasn't just that.

There was something else.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ashley came to a couple hours later. "What… happened?" she asked, trying to sit up, but I laid my paw on her shoulder, keeping her down.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"Yes… what happened?" her eyes widened. "I was knocked out by this horrible man, and-"

I raised my paw, silencing her. "Lets just say, he just took an Express-way out of my castle, and into heaven… or hell. It depends." I moved my hand from her shoulder to her head. "You don't have anything to worry about, now."

She nodded, slightly. "Thank you." For the first time, I actually saw her smile.

I smiled back… then realized she still needed a new shirt. "(ahem) I'll, um, have one of my servants find you a new outfit,"

"That would be nice," She sat up, holding the blanket against herself, looking around. "Where exactly am I?"

"My room… in the west wing."

"So, this is why you didn't want me up here…" Damn it, was she going to give me décor advice, now? "…You like to have your own solitude,"

My ears perked up. I was expecting more attitude, but she caught me by surprise. "Um, yeah. …I mean, don't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I normally go to the library. Not many people go there, and it's the one place where I can actually be… well, me."

Okay. NOW I was surprised. "What do you mean?"

Before she could reply, the twins ran in, one of them holding Izzy. "Silver, what happened? We heard you killed a guy!" Drake or Derek said.

"Yeah, is the body still around?" The other twin- who was holding Izzy- asked, looking around.

I gave them a look. "What did I tell you guys about coming into my room without permission?" I snapped.

"But Ashley's in your room and-" Derek or Drake began to argue, but paused, his eyes widening. "Whoa…"

"Why is her shirt off?" The twin with Izzy asked.

I shoved the twins out of the room. "Just go find her a shirt!" I then slammed the door. "Sheesh. Kids, what're you gonna do with 'em, huh?"

Ashley laid a hand on her stomach. "Yeah… quite a handful." she said.

**Day 8**

Things between Ashley and I improved since yesterday.

We sat in the foyer, and I asked her about her life, starting with why she went somewhere solitary to be herself. "Well… lets say I was kind of popular, but not in a good way." she replied. "Back in school, I never went out for sports, though I did go out for Speech Team. But I never hung out with the rest of the girls, because they were never interested in the things I was- reading, writing stories, drawing- and mostly just gave themselves makeovers, talked about boys, or gossip."

"Not into all that prissy stuff, huh?" I guessed.

She nodded. "Everyone thought I was a nerd. I figured it would all stop after graduation. I got a job at the mall, where I found out I was wrong. While I spent most of my time helping out customers or checking stocks, the others would be sitting behind the register, bored, or talking on the phone until their shift ended." she sighed. "On my days off, I always went to the book store or took a walk through the park, not really getting into much conversation because I didn't have much to say…"

"The strong silent type, I take it?"

She smiled, shrugging a bit. "Yeah, that's how most people described me." her smile faded. "Though, rather than asking me more about myself, they just assumed I was some sort of anti-social freak- always keeping to myself, never going out much, hardly giving anyone the time of day…"

_Boy, could I relate to that… _I thought.

"And if that wasn't what made people peculiar about me, it was how I never swooned over the town pretty-boy."

I arched an eyebrow. "Town pretty-boy?"

"That's how I describe him. His name's Rupert Castellan, and he lives in this classy mansion, is a skilled hunter, and has all the women chasing after him while men want to be him." she crossed her arms, shaking her head. "I don't see why. He's such a vain, inconsiderate, ill-mannered ego-maniac." she let out a sigh. "He asked me on a date a couple weeks ago, and when I declined, the whole town's jaws dropped, believing I was out of my mind."

"He's that popular, huh?"

"It's as if they think he can change stone into gold. Even my own sisters thought I was crazy for turning him down!" she shrugged again, looking out the window. "But, I've learned to deal with being shunned by society. …It would be nice to actually get away, go somewhere new, meet new people, and just have fun." she turned back to me. "I guess being in your castle is more like a vacation for me, away from all that."

I smirked, rubbing my chin. "It could be better. Follow me," I lead her down the corridor and down the hall, where a pair of double doors stood. Opening them, we walked into a dark room.

"What's in here?"

"Hold on, let me find the lights," One good thing about being a werewolf was night-vision, and as I looked around, I couldn't help but feel eager about what she'd think. I found the switch, and flicked on the lights.

Ashley stood agape, awed at all the shelves full of books, stairways that lead to more shelves, going as high as the ceiling. "Wow… You must really love to read."

I chuckled. "Nah, this was my grandfather's study. My father had it built for him because he kept coming over with so many books, always wanting to learn new things or get sucked into another story." I turned to her. "When you told me how much you liked to read, it reminded me of him, and I figured you'd like this place."

"I love it!"

"In that case, this room is officially yours. Your own solitary space."

She turned to me, smiling wider. "Thank you so much," She walked over, picking up a book. "Would… you like to read with me?"

I'm not the kind of guy who reads all that often, but seeing the excitement on her face, it was hard to say 'no'. "Sure,"

**Day 15**

I stood on the balcony, watching Ashley play kick-ball with the twins down in the courtyard. They had swept away all the dirt and dead weeds to make the area better to play games in. It had been a week since we started getting along, and she spent most of her time in the library. Drake and Derek believed she was spending too much time inside and needed to get out and get some fresh air, and convinced her to play with them. I smiled, seeing how much fun she was having.

Jocelyn and Leonard stood beside me, Jocelyn cradling Izzy in her arms, watching their children play. "The boys really like having Ashley around, don't they?" Jocelyn asked, smiling.

"It has been a while since they found a new friend to play with," Leonard agreed. "Who would've thought she'd love kids so much?"

"She's going to make an excellent mother,"

My ears perked up at that last statement. "What do you mean?" I asked, slyly.

Jocelyn shrugged. "Oh, just expressing my opinion." Izzy squealed, giggling, and her mother chuckled. "I believe Izzy wants to watch her brothers from a closer angle," In a poof of smoke, both of them disappeared.

"Hey, Silver! You wanna come down and play?" Drake or Derek called up to me, having spotted me at last.

I looked at Leonard, both of us knowing it had been a while since I've played any games. He shrugged, motioning me to give it a try. "Sure, I'll be right down," I called.

0o0o0o0o0o0

I wasn't really into playing kick-ball as a kid, but once I got into it, there was no stopping me… until Ashley hit me with the ball when I was running bases (a tree, a rock, and a withered bush), then we began arguing whether I was 'safe' or not. Turns out I ended up out, and I was about to lose it again, until Ashley gave me a look- arched eyebrow, pursed lips, and a slight glare… like what a mother would give. I had been trying to control my temper around her ever since 'that' incident. So, muttering to myself, I stood back in line, deciding to run the bases faster- or better yet, kicking a home-run… anything so I wouldn't get out again.

I kicked a homer alright… clear over the castle wall. "Aw, man! NOW what are we going to do?" Drake or Derek complained, and I couldn't help but feel a little guilty for ruining the game.

Ashley came to the rescue. "We could draw," she said, holding up a rock.

"Draw? With rocks?" The other twin scoffed. "How is THAT going to- oof!" his brother elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.

"Just watch," Ashley knelt down, scraping the rock against the pavement. It was soft enough to work like chalk, and she began illustrating.

"Whoa! How'd you do that?" Both the twins asked.

"There's some chalk-stones over there. We used to have them scattered in our garden back at my house, and my sisters and I used to draw with them on the sidewalk. They work just as good as regular chalk."

"Cool!" The twins ran over, grabbing a few 'chalk-stones', and began doodling.

I decided to give it a try, but I wasn't quite as good, most of my lines coming out as squiggles. I looked over at Ashley's, seeing her draw a beautiful rose. "You're really good," I commented.

"I just like to draw," She must've noticed me looking at my pitiful drawing, because she then grabbed my arm. "C'mon, I'll show you another way to draw." She stood up straight, facing the other way. "Alright, have at it." I only stared at her, confused. She pointed at the ground. "My shadow. Try tracing it."

I shrugged, doing what she said. To my amazement, it didn't come out half as bad. "So… now what?"

"You add your own details, like jewelry or clothes."

"Will you do us, too?" Drake or Derek asked.

"And Izzy!" The other twin exclaimed, holding up their little sister.

I shrugged, smirking and tracing their shadows, each of them making a different pose. I let them put in their own little details once I was finished, and then they wanted to do my shadow. …It stood out like a sore thumb, the shape of it reminding me of what I was. When Ashley looked at it, she rubbed her chin. "Needs something…" she then stood beside me, reaching her arm out so her shadow was touching my shadow's hand. The twins traced the scene, then- on Ashley's instructions- drew us in classy outfits. "That looks good, don't you think?"

I smiled at her. "Perfect," I replied.

**Day 18**

I sat with Ashley beside the fireplace, listening as she read a story to Izzy, who was sitting in her lap. She had decided to tend to the infant so Jocelyn and Leonard could have a break. The story she read was "The Frog Prince", and halfway through the story Izzy fell asleep.

"I'll go put her to bed," she whispered to me, setting the book aside and carrying Izzy out.

While she was gone, I couldn't help but think about what Jocelyn had said about her the other day, about her being a good mother. Was she implying something? Did she think Ashley and I were hitting if off that well? I had been scratching my head about it for a while, trying to find meaning behind her words.

Shrugging, I left the room, passing by Izzy's room, watching as Ashley lied her down in her crib. She was smiling at the baby, though I saw a trace of sadness in her eyes. Perhaps she was upset because the poor child had been born a vampire?

I walked back to the foyer, deciding not to asked her about it just yet. She had been going through different mood swings lately… maybe she was going through a menstrual thing.

**Day 28**

Ashley wasn't feeling herself. She had stayed in her room all day, staring out the window. She hardly came down for dinner, and even the twins couldn't get her to come out. I stood outside her door, concerned, wondering if I did anything wrong. _Better make sure she's alright, _I told myself, then knocked on the door, opening it a crack. "Ashley? You in here?" I asked, seeing her sitting in a chair, looking out the window, looking like the shell of the woman I used to know. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." She replied, sighing. …Bull crap.

I stepped beside her, resting a paw on her shoulder. "Ashley, c'mon. Werewolves can read emotions."

She looked down. "I just… I'm just feeling a little home-sick. I haven't seen my family for over two weeks, and I can't stop thinking about them. I hope they're not too worried…"

Guilt strikes again, but this time I had a solution. "Come with me," I led her back to my room, and showed her the mirror. "This mirror can show you anything you want. Just give the word,"

She looked at me curiously, then looked into the mirror. "I'd like to see my family, please."

The image changed to her sisters kneeling by her father's bedside with tears in their eyes, while their father lie there, coughing. "Daddy, we told you not to go looking for her!" The first sister sobbed. "It was too cold out!"

"I called the doctor, and he says Dad might have pneumonia!" The second sister bawled.

"Oh, my gosh…" Ashley gasped, tears forming in her eyes. "My dad… I have to go to him! If he's that sick…"

I bit my bottom lip. "Then… go to him."

"What?"

"He needs you, doesn't he? I'll have Leonard drive you home."

She winced. "Thank you…" she handed me back the mirror, but I pushed it toward her.

"Keep it, so you can always have a way to look back," _…Good Lord, why does it sound like I'm ripping off a Disney-flick? _I thought.

That's when she hugged me. "I'll never forget you."

And then she left.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I stood on the balcony that night, staring out at the stars, when the twins came running in. "Silver, is it true?" Drake asked.

"Is Ashley really gone?" Derek asked next.

…As you can tell, I finally found a way to tell them apart- well, Ashley did. Drake's tone was more suave, while Derek's was more sophisticated.

I sighed. "Yes, I let her go." I replied.

"But, why?" Both of them asked.

"It's called being in love." I walked back into my room, lying down in bed. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone."

They looked at each other, but left.

**Two Weeks Later**

I lied in my room, looking out the window, sorrow filling my soul.

Ashley had really made an impact on my life. Now that she was gone… it was as if the entire castle was empty… I was empty.

My servants spent days trying to coax me out, the twins begging me to play with them- even trying to use Izzy, making her use a cute face to draw me out. But their efforts were in vain, because the one person who brought this castle back to life had left, taking our joy with her.

Nothing could snap me out of my sorry-state…

Until Jocelyn kicked open the door, grabbed me by the shoulders, and- due to vampire strength- yanked me out of my bed and dragged me down the hall. "Hey! What the hell?" I snapped.

She shoved me into the bathroom, where Leonard and another servant were waiting for me. "Fix him up, boys. We have a lot of work to do," she ordered, then shut the door.

"What is going on here?" Leonard and the other servant shoved me into the tub just then. "Ack!"

"Oh, just quiet down and hold still," Leonard sneered, as the other servant began to scrub my head. "We've got to make you look more decent,"

I tried to get out of the tub, but the other servant kept me down. "What are you guys talking about?"

Leonard smirked. "Lets just say, we have a plan to boost your spirits." He then held up a dark-blue suit for me.

Whatever this plan was, I hated it already.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After a bath and a hair-cut, I reluctantly put on the suit, allowing Leonard to guide me to the ballroom… which had been cleaned and decorated, for some reason. I arched an eyebrow, noticing all the servants- even the twins- were all dressed up, and I couldn't help but feel suspicious. _It's not my birthday… what's with all the get-up? _I wondered.

Leonard had me wait by the stairs, telling me to look up. Knowing things couldn't get any weirder, I followed his orders…

Seeing a woman standing at the top of them, wearing a gorgeous yellow dress, her brown hair put up in a stunning style, and looking more beautiful than ever. "A-Ashley?" I gasped.

She smiled, walking down the stairs until she was standing before me. "Hello, Silver." She said, her hazel-brown eyes sparkling. Music then began to play, and she held out her hand. "Would you like to dance?"

"Uh, sure…" She linked her arm with mine, and we walked onto the dance floor. …I had never, in my entire life, danced before, so I was pretty nervous… so I let her lead.

God was good to me, because I didn't screw up once. After a few steps I got the hang of it, and started leading. Ashley smiled up at me, and rested her head on my chest (The twins were giving me a thumbs-up by this point).

The song ended, and Ashley began guiding me out of the room. "Silver, before we do anything else, can I talk to you in private?" she asked, and I could sense worry in her voice.

"Of course," I replied, and we headed up to my room, sitting on my bed. "Is there something wrong?"

She took a deep breath. "Silver… I have something to tell you. I'm… expecting."

I arched an eyebrow. "Expecting… what?" She gave me a look, then rested her hand on her stomach… and I got the message. "Oh, you mean you're…?" My heart stopped just then, and it all made sense now- the morning sickness, the cravings, the mood swings… how could I have missed it? "Oh, shit! Ash, listen, I-I swear I didn't do anything to you when you were unconscious when that maniac knocked you out! I-"

She grabbed me by the shoulders. "Silver, calm down, it's not yours! It's my ex-boyfriend's."

I blinked. "Your… ex-boyfriend's?"

She nodded, sighing. "Yes, I met him over a year ago. When I told him I was pregnant, he left me."

My heart slowed down. "Oh. Whew! Boy, you nearly scared me!" I then noticed the concern remained in her eyes, and I had a feeling I wasn't the only one who didn't expect this. "…Does your family know?"

She shook her head, wincing. "No. I'm afraid that… if I tell them, they're going to leave me, too."

I cocked my head, confused. "So… why are you telling me, then? You've only known me for a month,"

"Because…" she took my hand, giving it a small squeeze, a tear hitting it. "I just couldn't hide it any longer, and had to tell someone I could trust…" her eyes met mine, shimmering with tears. "And you're the only one I can trust, Silver."

I felt my eyes wincing. "You… you really trust me?"

She nodded. "Yes… you're my friend, and you've taken good care of me this entire month we've been together, and I felt you found out first, before anyone else."

"Wow, Ash, I-I don't know what to say… Thank you." Of course, I knew I wasn't the first one she probably told. Now that I think about it, Jocelyn's statement about Ashley being a good mother made total sense now. I looked at her, still seeing concern in her eyes… I couldn't blame her. She was afraid to tell her family, her ex-boyfriend fled, and she would need someone to help her out if no one else did. …and I wasn't going to be one of the ones who didn't. "And, if you want, I could help take care of your kid, too."

Concern disappeared from her eyes and hope replaced it. "Really?"

"Of course. Anything you need, I'll give to you." It was true. She needed someone to help her take care of her and her child? I'd do it. I'd go to the ends of the earth to find what she needed. As I held her hand, I knew I had to tell her it all… starting with something I wanted to tell her for a while now. "The truth is, Ashley, I-"

I never got far, because suddenly there were screams coming from downstairs and out the door. We stood up to go check it out, but before we could take a step the door flew open and some guy wearing a fedora hat, glasses, cape (seriously?), sporting a porno-mustache and carrying a gun stepped in, and the son of a bitch shot me in the shoulder!

"Agh!" I snarled. I turned to the man, fury rising within me, and I went to lunge, but tripped over an over-turned chair.

"SILVER!" Ashley cried, and the bastard was pulling her away. "Let go of me, Rupert!"

_Ashley! _I got up, snarling. There was no way I was going to let some asshole hurt her!

"So, THIS is your furry friend, eh?" The douche, Rupert, snapped as he aimed his gun at me. "It's a good thing friendship doesn't always last…"

"Let her go-!" I bellowed, lunging.

*BANG!*

"NO!" Ashley screamed… and that's the last word I heard from her, before everything went black.

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

When I came to, I was surrounded by darkness. _Ashley? …Ashley! _I remembered, and tried to get up, but was pulled back. That's when I noticed I had been chained to the wall, and- typically- in a prison cell. As if things couldn't have been worse…

And things can always get worse, because some blue-skinned blonde-haired creature wearing a uniform stepped into the cell. "Ah, so THIS is the vile beast, is it?" she said.

"What's going on? Where am I?"

"You're in Pent Towers, a prison for monsters." a voice said, and suddenly a dark-skinned girl wearing old-fashioned pajamas and a pink ski-cap appeared… what freaked me out was that I could see right through her!

"Lilly, if you don't mind," The blue-skinned creature said sternly, and the girl disappeared. "I am Zaphael Smollet, owner of this prison."

"My warden is a blue-skinned chick?" I questioned.

She scowled at me. "The term is 'Kretin', wolf-man. And I'm not only your wardend, but the judge, the jury, and the executioner."

…I've heard that movie-line somewhere, but I couldn't think of where. Plus, I had other things on my mind. "How did I get here, and… what happened to Ashley?"

"Who?"

"Ashley! Ashley Krook. She's a woman I know. She was over at my castle, when some psycho broke in-"

"Ah, yes, the woman you tried to rape and slaughter before the mob caught up to you."

"WHAT?"

"Quite a tragedy for you, isn't it? Keeping a woman trapped in your castle, with vampires guarding it 24-7, until finally you've been caught and sent here."

"Listen, 'Kreten', whoever told you that story is a big-assed liar. I didn't hurt Ashley- I'd never hurt her! Ask any of my servants!"

"I would, but I'm afraid they've all been slaughtered."

_All… slaughtered? Jocelyn? Leonard? Drake? Derek? They're all dead? _I winced.

"However, we managed to save one…" She made a 'come' gesture with her finger, and- believe it or not- a statue walked in, carrying a bundle. …Izzy! "This little child had managed to escape the riot, and one of our agents found her and brought her here. Since her parents are dead, we've decided to keep her around. Vampires tend to have long memories, so perhaps once she gets older she can give us the details of your treacherous deeds."

"I've told you, you've got it all wrong! I didn't attack anyone, they attacked me!"

"Pfft. Why would someone attack a werewolf without a cause?"

"That's another thing. I'm not actually a werewolf! I'm under a spell! Please, you've got to let me out… Ashley needs me!"

"Unlikely," The warden then walked out.

"No! Let me out! She needs me! SHE NEEDS ME!" I bowed my head, tears falling from my eyes.

In just a matter of hours, everything… everyone I loved, was gone.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**A/N: Geez, 18 pages! Hope you all appreciate long one-shots.**

**Please review. No flames. I'm open to suggestions… blah blah, yap yap, drabble drabble…**


	5. The Swan Snob

**And now for another one-shot to highlight your lives. Yippee.**

**REVIEWER THANKS**

**Elizabeth: **(I noticed something odd about your review, lol) Now onto the response: Yeah, they are great guys… at least they were, until they were slaughtered :p Chibi! (that's one of my favorite words, lol) …Duh. …And we all tend to eat weird foods when we're craving. And I thought about that, but it would seem a little too ironic- plus, I wanted to give a reference to Radio (since her story is kind of similar), and the two stories are a tad similar- especially since she and Silver were cursed by the same guy. …Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, sorry. And yes, I SHALL put your idea in ;)

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I sat at my computer, going through my e-mails. Ever since we took down a psycho sorcerer, a crazy mayor, and a merciless werewolf, things had been slow in the land of fairytales… I'm not complaining, I'm GLAD to have a day-off, being able to enjoy some solitude for once. I scrolled down the list, coming across a message from my outsider-acquaintance, Rudy Homes:

_Hey Blue _(little homo spelled my name wrong)

_How's life in the land of enchantment? _(mind-numbing as usual) _How's Pin, Wolf, Robin, Red, and Goldie been doing? _(Pin and Wolf haven't changed, Robin's been pretty quiet, Red's still a slut, and Goldie got her hand caught in the cookie-jar… at the bakery… again) _It's been a month since we first visited Fairytale Land, and I still can't get over everything that had happened. Danny and his aunt have been catching up, though she moved back to the castle to bring order back to the kingdom. _(Nice) _Jimmy and Radio are still trying to cope with being half-werewolf and half-cat, trying to keep their ears and tails hidden, especially at school. _(I'm sure Inuyasha and Ichigo had the same problems). _Normally the school doesn't allow hats, but they got away with it by writing up fake notes about some sort of medical scalp-condition…_

The message went on about how Rudy and his friends had been coping, how he and his siblings convinced his parents that their was a burglary and the intruder knocked them into a coma, and blah blah blah… Don't get me wrong, I'm not being a snob. I just find it annoying when someone goes on about their social life. Finally, it got to something interesting…

_But, enough about my life. _(Was there more? I thought we heard the whole thing) _I have a favor to ask. You see, in my English class we're studying the classic fairytales, and one of our assignments is to write a revised version of one of them. _(I can see where THIS is going) _I chose a story based on the ballet 'Swan Lake', and was wondering if you had the true-version of the fairytale._

I found it insulting that the kid was using me to help him with homework, but then again I figured it could help the rest of the world learn that fairytales are more than they seem.

For instance, take the 'Swan Lake' tale…

0o0o0o0o0o0

I was twelve at the time, when I had to join my cousin Snow White at a ball. Emphasis on 'had', since my aunt and uncle were out of town and I had to stay with Snow, and all her servants would get the chills if they had to stay in a castle alone with me. I hated every minute of it… especially since I had to wear a frickin' dress… Fortunately, I was wearing jeans and a sleeveless T-shirt underneath.

The ball went on for hours, and by the thirtieth dance-number, I managed to sneak out into an empty hall and try to high-tail it, when I saw two teens coming my way. I ducked behind a tapestry, listening to them argue:

"Oh, c'mon, Odette! I DO think you're beautiful!" A boy's voice was saying. "I just thought ALL girls wanted to be judged on their personalities, first…"

"That's just what ugly-girls say so they have an excuse on why they don't go to prom with guys," A girl's voice scoffed. "I'll have you know that I'm a beautiful creature, and if you couldn't tell me that first-hand-"

"I thought you already knew that I knew that you were beautiful! I thought all beautiful girls knew when boys found them stunning-"

"I am NOT like the other beautiful girls, Siegfried! How many times must I tell you that?"

"Um… this is your first time telling me…"

"Whatever. Until you see me as the gorgeous, graceful woman I am, just stay out of my way!"

I heard someone storming off, and a heavy voice sigh and walk off. "Sheesh, talk about temperamental…" I muttered.

"Oh, Blu, there you are!" A voice exclaimed, and Snow grabbed me and pulled me back into the ball room. "You almost missed the princess' ballet!"

Almost, but didn't. Damn it.

So, for the next hour, I watched some blonde-haired chick dressed in a slim white dress and matching slippers prancing around, and by this point I wish I fell asleep and drowned in my soup.

Things got interesting when the lights when out and the doors blew open, and a sinister-looking man stepped in. "Von Rothbart! What are YOU doing here?" The king of the castle demanded.

"Oh, no reason… I just sensed a lesson needed to be learned," Rothbart said, looking at the princess. "You're daughter, Odette, is a beautiful creature, is she not? More beautiful than she could ever be…"

"Yeah, yeah, we all know THAT." Odette, the princess, scoffed. "Why are you crashing my ball?"

"I come baring a proposition. You are beautiful… but what if I made you the most beautiful creature in all the land? More beautiful than the goddess Aphrodite?"

Odette rubbed her chin. "Keep talking…"

"Odette, don't listen to him!" Siegfried, the boy from earlier, cried out. "It's not what it seems!"

The princess scowled at Siegfried. "Would you shut up already? If this guy wants to make me more beautiful then let him!" she turned back to Rothbart. "Have at it!"

In a flash of light, Rothbart had changed her into a swan. "There, now you're more beautiful." he said, and with a cackle, disappeared.

"What the…? I'm not beautiful! I'm a frickin' bird! Change me back!"

I only rolled my eyes. "I wonder of 'Roast Swan' is on the menu tonight." I said.

0o0o0o0o0o0

'…_So, Siegfried decided to help Odette track down Rothbart to break the curse- neither of them knowing that she had to pledge a vow of ever-lasting love to him and learn to love him for more than his good-looks. And yadda, yadda, they find the sorcerer, the prince fights him and gets mortally wounded, but before he dies she pledges her love to the prince- but it turns out to be Odile, her cross-dressing twin who disguised herself as Siegfried, then she dies, the end.' _I wrote to Rudy. _'You can improvise the gaps if you'd like.'_

I sent him the message, then went back into the living room to watch tv, seeing that a Disney-flick "The Swan Princess" was on. …Coincidences never cease to pop out of nowhere.

As I watched the movie, I couldn't help but recall one tiny piece of information I should've sent to Rudy, but I pushed it aside.

I'm sure he'd come up with the idea that Odette ended up laying an egg in the end, anyway.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**A/N: This one-shot was suggested by Elizabeth (I'm sorry if it wasn't that good, but I hope you liked it, anyway).**

**Please review. Flames are for luaus. **


	6. Waking Nightmares Cause Lack of Trust

**Hey, I'm bored right now, so here's another one-shot! (boredom can come in handy, can't it?)**

**REVIEWER THANK-YOUS**

**Elizabeth: **Yep… Blu's an anime fan XD And thank you for nit-picking. I felt Blu's version seemed too sugar-coated, and edited it to sound more tragic (also threw in an Odile ref for ya). And thank you for the list of other fairytales- ones I completely forgot about! D8

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

They were called 'waking-nightmares' for a reason.

Jimmy sat on the roof of the front porch, which was conveniently located outside his new bedroom window. It had been two weeks since he moved in with Silver… and since then the nightmares had plagued his mind…

_He was back in Pent Towers, chained against the wall, seeing his ghostly-friend, Lilly, being strangled by that lizard-monster, Ace, while the gorgon Meds stabbed Silver several times. "No… NO! Get away from them!" Jimmy cried, trying to break free of his chains… realizing his voice sounded like a child's… and the villains looked bigger._

"_Aw, what's the matter, boy?" Ace sneered… but rather than having a hiss-like accent, his voice sounded familiar. "Don't want me to KILL her, again?"_

_Again?_

"_J-Jimmy…" Lilly gasped, but her voice sounded like an adult's… and her face suddenly resembled his mother's._

"_What the…?" Jimmy gasped. As he took a second glance, the whole scene began to shift- he was no longer in a jail cell, but in the middle of the woods. He was no longer chained back, but felt that he couldn't move._

_Meds and Ace's faces changed… the Gorgon now looked like a man wearing all black and carrying hunting-gear, from knives to guns, and the lizard-creature now looked like a man with brown hair and a bushy mustache… having the all-too familiar face of Rupert Kahn, Jimmy's step-father._

_He screamed when the two men came forth with their knives-_

And then he awoke. The images from the terrible dream remained in his mind, and he couldn't rest…

And there was only one person who could help him out.

…If he accepted their help, that is.

Silver watched Jimmy sit on the roof, then shook his head and walked back inside. _Something's up with that kid… and it's not just because he's on the roof. _he thought.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jimmy went back inside hours later as the sun began to set. He ate dinner without saying a word, and went to bed early- which both Silver and Radio found strange. "Something's up with James." Radio said, trying to keep from lapping at her drink (she was trying to get used to being human again, due to being a cat for so long). "He spent the whole day on the roof, lost in thought, and he hasn't said a word all day."

Silver rubbed his chin. "Then I guess it's time someone got one out of him," he said, then walked up to Jimmy's room, finding the door was open and the teen was lying face-down in bed. "Hey, Jimbo, any reason why you're giving everyone the silent-treatment?"

"I'm just tired…" Jimmy said, though his voice was muffled by the pillow, so it came out more like, "I'mph jush tire…"

"Ah, I see… stay up late last night, or woke up too early?"

He shrugged, sitting up. "I just couldn't sleep."

"What's keeping you from it? Dogs barking, neighbors playing loud music… Radio yowling on the fence?"

"I heard that!" Radio snapped from downstairs.

"Nah, it's none of that," Jimmy replied, keeping back a chuckle from Silver's joke.

"Then, what is it? Still getting used to sleeping in a warm bed?" Silver asked, and the boy shook his head. "…Have a nightmare or two, lately?"

Jimmy figured Silver would get to that, sooner or later. A bond had grown between them, and he felt he could tell him anything… but the rebel within him refused to do so. _Don't even think about going soft… remember the last time you trusted someone too much? He ruined your life! _he told himself.

…But Silver was different. At first glance, Jimmy refused to trust the ex-werewolf when they shared a jail-cell in Pent Towers, but by the time they broke out, something between them changed. He had saved Jimmy's life a number of times, and nearly lost his life doing so, and in return the boy had broke the werewolf's curse, changing him back into human. Once they were free from their troubles, Silver had invited Jimmy into his home with open arms, along with Radio. The rebel never trusted anyone more than his friend.

But the past kept replaying in his mind, about the father he never met and the step-dad who robbed him blind and left his mother to die when she grew ill, leaving Jimmy to fend for himself on the streets. Ever since he was seven, he could never bring it upon himself to trust anyone, no matter how close he was to them.

"Jim?" Silver asked, noticing the young teen had fallen quiet.

Jimmy shook his head. "I-It was just a dumb nightmare, nothing big." he finally replied, keeping his cool… despite how real the dream had seemed.

It would take more than that to convince Silver, though. "Alright then," the man said, feigning satisfaction. "Just wanted to make sure nothing was bothering you." he began walking out of the room. "I mean, you're old enough to handle nightmares."

The rebel waited until he was gone, then sighed and fell back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. _Of COURSE you can handle nightmares, nimrod. _he told himself. _It takes more than a stupid dream to mess with your head._ Yet every time he shut his eyes, even in a mere blink, the images appeared before him. He shook his head and turned on the TV in his room, deciding to get his mind off the haunting dream.

He chucked the remote at the power-button on the television when _A Nightmare on Elm Street _came on.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Radio knew better than to confront Jimmy when he was in a mood, and decided to get some fresh air. It was getting dark out, but she didn't mind- still having a few cat-like qualities, she enjoyed being out at a nocturnal hour. Though, when visiting Danny and Rudy, she knew she would have to make sure her friends were still up, so not to disturb them or cause Rudy's parents alarm.

As she walked, she couldn't help but feel concern for her rebellious friend. She had sensed something was wrong with him, and yet was too shy to ask him about it.

Finally, she decided to turn around and head back to the house. _I don't care if he snaps at me, _she thought. _Something is wrong, and I can't just walk away…_

She paused when she saw Silver in the doorway, waiting for her. "Skipping your late-night stroll, kitten?" Silver asked her. He always called her "kitten", namely just to annoy her.

"Only until after I have a talk with Jimmy," Radio replied, keeping herself from snapping at Silver for the "kitten" name.

Silver raised his hand. "I know… I'm going to have a talk with him, too. Why don't you continue your walk? You can talk to him in the morning, after he's gotten a good night's sleep."

Radio sighed bitterly, but obeyed. She walked until she was in Danny and Rudy's area, seeing that their house-lights were off and the boys were no doubt asleep. _I'm not even sure Jimmy will be able to sleep, from the way he's been acting. _she thought.

That thought was enough to make her cut her walk short and head back to the house to check on her friend.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was quiet, and Jimmy's thoughts raced once again, harsh memories of his past intermingling with his nightmares… his mother screaming… Lilly being strangled… Rupert slapping his mother… Ace injecting venom into Silver… Meds making his mother freeze with his hypnotic gaze… Lilly growing ill (how it was possible for a ghost to get sick, no one knew)… Ace biting his mother… Rupert shooting Silver… Two Ruperts stabbing both his mother and Silver while Meds stared Lilly down and Ace pulled a pedophilic act… Jimmy being beaten by the cops, left in the dark to die…

*thud*

He rolled out of bed from thrashing so much. Breathing heavily, he ran out of his room and down the hall. He needed fresh air… he needed a drink… he needed SOMETHING to clear his head!

*Wham!*

"Oof!" he grunted, falling backwards onto the floor.

"Whoa, Jimbo, where's the fire?" Silver asked after the boy ran into him.

"Sorry, I just gotta… I need to go." With that, he ran down the stairs.

Silver, of course, followed him. _Either he's got diarrhea, or something's messing with his mind. _he thought. He found Jimmy sitting in the living room, the rebel staring at the TV as a soda-commercial came on. "Alright, kid, no more games. Tell me what's wrong,"

Jimmy sneered. "Nothing's wrong, I just can't sleep."

"Yeah, right, and I'm still half-wolf." Silver sat down next to him. "Something's eating you, Jimmy, and I'd like to know what."

A scowl came next. "I told you, nothing's wrong. Now, leave me alone, you dumbass."

Silver scowled in return. It wasn't the first time Jimmy had cussed and called him names, and he'd have a few nasty retorts himself, but right now he wanted that to end. He gripped his shoulder, glaring at him eye-to-eye. "Now, listen to me, James Krook. We're not in prison anymore, or on the run, so you can cut this rebellious shit out. If there's something bothering you- if there's a problem, or something you want to get off your mind- you don't have to act like a little punk-ass and keep it to yourself. I didn't just let you come to live with me because you needed a place to stay- I did it because I want to help you have a better life. Now, spill it!"

Jimmy glowered deeper, turning away.

"Jim… Don't turn your back on me-"

"Why? Because YOU want to be the first to turn your back?" the rebel scoffed.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Never mind. Just… forget it." Jimmy got up to leave, but Silver pulled him back down. "Hey-!"

"Tell me what's wrong!"

"I can't!"

"Why?"

"I just can't!"

"That's not an answer!"

"I… I just can't trust you!" Jimmy jerked away, using too much strength and falling to the floor, landing on his hands and knees.

Silver stared at him, shocked. "Why?"

"I just… can't." Jimmy remained on the floor, hanging his head low. "Every time someone wants to help me, they only end up making my life worse. I'm tired of going through the same shit all the frickin' time… and I don't want to go through it with you."

Silver knelt down in front of him, resting a hand on his back. "James, listen to me… I promised your mother long ago that I'd help take care of you, and I don't plan on going back on my word. I'm going to see to it that you're life gets better, and that all the shit you went through in the past will remain in the past." he lifted his chin, so they could make eye-contact. "I'm not like the other douche-bags you had to deal with, Jimmy. I'm not going to abandon you, I'm not going to hurt you… I'm going to protect you. …I love you, kid."

Jimmy sighed, smirking. "Geez, Silver, have you been watching those damn Disney flicks, again?"

Silver chuckled, patting him on the back. "C'mon, boy. Go to bed. I don't want everyone to think I'm raising you to be an insomniac."

Jimmy rolled his eyes, heading for the stairs. He paused a bit, thinking about everything Silver said to him… thinking about how he had been by his side through their nightmarish journey… remembering how much he cared about him. _What was I thinking? _he thought, scolding himself for earlier.

He continued up the stairs, climbing into bed, still thinking about what Silver had said.

After what seemed like an hour, he heard footsteps walk in, and felt someone drape a blanket over him. "Thanks…" he whispered silently. "For everything."

"You're… welcome." Radio's voice replied.

Jimmy mentally kicked himself.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

**A/N: I was feeling fluffy, so… yeah.**

**REVIEW! …No flames though, k?**


	7. The Wrath of Blu Beard

**Now for another one-shot. Hope you guys like blood, 'cuz this one involves a lot of it! …Er, that's more of a warning for you younger-readers.**

**REVIEWER THANKS**

**Elizabeth: **Well, Blu's versions tend to be different than the original stories, in which case it was the PRINCESS who had to make the vow, and her evil-twin was also able to impersonate the prince because she was a tomboy (note: I love to be original ^-^) …I guess Blu would watch any kind of anime, as long as it wasn't fairytale-related. And I also agree- the wikipedia summaries are scary enough! (I did the same thing as you- read, not watched, lol). And once again thank you for bringing up your fairytale ideas!

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Once upon a time, a girl got kicked out of camp for scaring everyone half to death.

…That basically sums up the memoirs of when I was twelve.

You're probably wondering why I was sent to camp in the first place. Well, you see, Red was a year older than I was and, due to the merciless laws of nature, had already reached that phase of womanhood where young girls get incredibly emotional and insanely violent. …I hadn't hit mine, yet, and my aunt started to get worried, believing me to be a 'late-bloomer', and came to the conclusion that I wasn't hanging around enough girls (I barely hung out with boys!)

Her solution: send me to an all-girl camp. …I was writing out a list of death-wishes by that point.

So, against my will, I was dropped off at the one place worse than Fairytale Land: Camp Faust.

_Great, I'm staying the summer at a place named after a guy who sold his soul to the devil. _I thought bitterly. …Omens like that don't come around like they used to- once every trillion years.

As if things weren't bad enough, I was placed in the kid-cabin with a bunch of little cream-puffs who still played with dolls, rather than with the other pre-teen girls, ALL BECAUSE the dumb-assed scoutmasters wouldn't believe me when I said I WASN'T nine. "Do you want to play barbies?" Some curly-redhead in a frilly dress asked me.

"Only if we can tie firecrackers to them." I replied.

The shrimp ran off crying, and I got in trouble with one of the headmasters.

Not even five minutes at the rat-hole, and already I was put on the 'naughty' list. …Seriously, they had this huge list hanging on the wall of the headmaster's cabin, labeling which campers were good and which were bad! …Who founded this place, Santa Clause?

At lunch, I sat at a table with a bunch of girls who were wearing nothing but red. "What's with the matching colors?" I asked one of the girls, her name being Marie.

"It's a tradition we have here at camp," Marie told me. "Each girl wears a specific-colored shirt every Saturday to announce their 'status'."

"What status?"

"Her woman-hood status, duh." Another girl, Georgette, scoffed in reply. "Each color represents each kind of phase of womanhood." She pointed to all the girls wearing pink. "Pink symbolizes that a girl is still a child, meant to stick to their little childish games." she pointed at a couple of girls who walked by, wearing orange shirts. "Orange symbolizes all the girls who have gotten their period, a phase in which girls take the first step into womanhood." She then motioned to the rest of the girls at the table, including herself. "And red symbolizes all the girls who became women and… well, you know." she smirked, giving me a wink.

I didn't really quite understand what she was saying, until I thought about how much the girls in red reminded me of, well, Red… and that's when a theory hit me. "You mean… lost your virginity? How does that qualify if you're a woman or not?"

"Don't you know anything?" Marie questioned. "When a girl is ready to take the next step and make love, it means she is ready for everything else- marriage, raising kids, dressing for success, and other things womanhood involves."

"Duh," Another girl in red, Stefanie, replied as she rolled her eyes.

"That. Is the DUMBEST thing I have EVER heard," I sneered. "Girls having sex doesn't make them women, it's all about maturity- how responsible you are, the experiences you've encountered, being able to WAIT until marriage…"

"That's just something virgins say to make themselves feel better," Georgette huffed, then gave me a look. "Are YOU a virgin?"

"Lets see… I'm smart enough to avoid pregnancy and an STD, so yes."

"I doubt she's even been with a guy," Stefanie sneered.

"By the way she dresses, they probably believe her to be a transvestite," Marie added, and every girl at the table laughed.

"I suppose that's what YOUR color symbolizes," Georgette said to me. "Blue- smart-mouthed, intersexual boy-repellent."

I scowled, grabbing my tray and walking away. "I'd rather repel boys than be a SLUT." I retorted, deciding to eat outside. …The result was a crow snatching my roll.

_Someone just kill me now. _Was the only thing that remained in my head throughout my forced-visit to Camp Faust.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Almost a week later, though, things began to look up, because all the girls were allowed to camp out in the woods around a campfire, as part of the "Frightening First Friday" tradition. Each girl got to tell her own scary-story, and whosever story scared the most shit out of everyone got to pick out the film for "Monday Movie Madness" night. …I really wish camp counselors didn't make up lame-names for activities, and I'm pretty sure every kid from age 5 and up wishes the same thing.

I didn't care much about picking out the movie as I did about scaring the daylights out of these bra-stuffing, prissy, nail-filing, better-looking-believing, boy-band crazy pansies, especially all the girls wearing read shirts. I grinned, coming up with the perfect story to tell them…

My turn finally came, and I stood before the fire. "This is a story about what happened when I was staying at my cousin Kelly's cabin." I said, keeping a stoic expression. "I was ten at the time, helping her with a little housework, when HE showed up…"

_**Two Years Prior…**_

_Kelly lived out in the country with her father, younger sister and two older brothers. Their cabin was located near a beach, and down the road from them stood an old Victorian house located on a cliff… and in that house lived a man by many names. His real name was Giles de Rais, but no one really called him by that, because when he was going through puberty and going through manhood's stages, his facial hair came out blue. No matter what he did- dying it, shaving it, hiding it under his collar- his beard kept reappearing, and he gave up, going through life with the name… Bluebeard. _

_Because of his unruly oddly-colored facial-hair, no female- dead or alive- would want to be around him. He grew tired of being alone and decided to go to his neighbor's house and ask for one of his daughter's hands in marriage… his sights falling on Kelly's blonde-haired green-eyed beauty. Normally, Kelly's father would have punched a guy's lights out for asking such a thing (being a protective dad, he'd gun-down any guy who'd ask his daughters on a date). But, he was deep in debt and had lost his job and was unable to afford anything… so he agreed, allowing Bluebeard to take his pick._

_Kelly and her sister, Amy, both refused to go with Bluebeard, coming to the point where they made up things about each other so one of them wouldn't have to leave. "She's a great cook!" Kelly exclaimed, pointing at Amy._

"_Oh, no no no, I'm really not… Kelly is the chef in the family- and she's great with cleaning!" Amy retorted._

"_Actually, I'm really a slob… and Amy's great at making coffee!"_

"_Kelly's very generous, she's volunteered several times down at the homeless shelter!"_

"_Amy's won all five medals at the Olympics!"_

"_She can speak eighteen different languages!"_

"_SHE is a pro at making fake ID's!"_

"_She can read minds!"_

"_She has laser-vision!"_

"_Both girls are nuts," I said to Bluebeard. "You may just want to try the cabin three miles down the road- I hear there's a girl there who wears red shoes and loves to dance a lot,"_

"_No, I prefer one of these girls," Bluebeard said, and caressed Kelly's cheek, making her flinch. "Specifically this one…"_

"_But… I don't want to leave…" Kelly whimpered._

"_At least pay a visit to my home. Stay a night and see what you think of it, and we'll see if you'll change your mind."_

_Kelly sighed. "Alright… but on one condition." she put and arm around me. "I'd like to bring my cousin for support."_

"_Agreed."_

"_WHAT?" I shouted._

_Before we knew it, we were being taken to the Victorian house on the cliff… and I was quietly vowing to never support another family member as long as I lived._

_The house was huge… and looking like something from that television show "The Munsters". Kelly and I were sent to our room- with a lavender chair, large bed with a canopy, double-doors leading out to a balcony that gave a view of the ocean…_

_Rather than enjoying the scenery, I spent the time chewing out Kelly. "Why did you volunteer ME to come along for support? Why not Amy, or your brother Derek, or Roger, or the cat?" I snapped._

"_You were the only one who didn't seem afraid of Bluebeard," Kelly replied. "I figured bringing you along would help give me courage…"_

"_The only reason I'm not afraid of him is because that big blue beard of his keeps staring in my face so much, I can't remember my own emotions! You could've at least ASKED me to come with you!"_

"_But then you would've said 'no'."_

"_NO DUH!"_

_*knock knock* _

_The door opened and a butler walked in. "The master wishes that you change into something more formal and meet him in the dining room." he said. "There are some dresses in the wardrobe," With that, he walked out._

_Kelly walked over to the wardrobe, opening it and finding several gorgeous dresses- at least in her perspective. I just saw a bunch of fabric that could cut off my air-supply. "Weird… why would Bluebeard have a wardrobe full of dresses?" I asked aloud._

_Kelly grabbed one, holding it against herself and looking into the mirror. "Perhaps he had a sister or something…" she replied with a shrug. _

_I arched an eyebrow, watching as she looked through the dresses. "You're not actually thinking about going down there with that creep, are you?"_

"_Well… he may be a creep, but he's also our host. No matter how ugly he may seem, it would be rude to decline. …Besides, these dresses are just so fabulous!"_

To you. I'd rather dine with hobos- at least they look better. _I thought to myself._

_Kelly got dressed, and I just went down casual, deciding to make an excuse that I'm allergic to ruffles. When we reached the dining room, our jaws practically hit the floor._

_Line around the table, surrounding the banquet before us, was gold and jewels. As we looked around, we saw gold and jewels everywhere- hanging from the chandeliers, embedded into the walls, gems sewed into the carpet… The whole room sparkled so much I had to shield my eyes. _

"_It's so… beautiful," Kelly said._

"_Aye, it is," Bluebeard said, and we noticed him sitting at the end of the table, wearing casual-clothes (his beard still messed up). "I come from a family of aristocrats, and my home is full of treasures."_

"_You must be very lucky," _

"…_Lucky no one's tried to kill him for all this loot," I said out the corner of my mouth._

"_I don't feel lucky." Bluebeard sighed. "You see… all the gold and jewels that surround you is more of an inheritance… from my entire family. I have no living relatives, not even a pet… I'm surrounded by fortune, but I have no one to share it with, or pass it down to when I am deceased. Due to my appearance, I lead a lonely life."_

Oh, brother! _I thought, clearly seeing through his charade._

"_Aw, that's so sad…" Kelly said, and actually reached and touched his hand! What the Grimm? _

"_It's especially hard when I don't have a wife and kids… Someone to come home to after all my travels." Bluebeard continued, giving her sad eyes. "If I were to have a family, I'd use every penny of my fortune to make their lives a paradise- buy them whatever they wanted, making sure there was cash in their pockets, never letting them slip into debt…"_

_I could see where he was going with this, but before I could even think of a retort Kelly piped up, "That's so generous! It's hard to believe no woman wants to marry a kind gentleman like you…"_

"_That is because they judge me by my ugliness, rather than getting to know me first…"_

"_Well, I believe everyone's wrong about you, Bluebeard, including myself. I would be honored to be your wife!"_

_I slapped my forehead._

_One quick call to the Justice of the Peace later, Kelly was married to Bluebeard by midnight._

…_And this is probably one reason people still make 'dumb blonde' jokes._

_0o0o0o0o0o0_

_I stayed with Kelly the first week of her marriage, just to make sure she didn't to anything else stupid- if that was possible._

_Boy, was it possible._

_Bluebeard had to go on a business trip, and left Kelly with a key- a skeleton key that could open any door in the house, leading her to any treasure-filled dorm. "But, do NOT open the door down in the basement. That's where I keep my 'personal' items," Bluebeard said._

"_What kind of 'personal' items?" I asked, suspiciously._

_He gave me a grave look. "Items that little girls shouldn't be allowed to see. …Other than that, you're free to explore the house." With that, he was out the door._

_Kelly looked toward the basement, her curiosity getting the best of her. I mean, I couldn't blame her, I was curious too- but I was also wise enough to know that in marriage, there are no secrets after the first five years, and this was only the first day. "Don't even think about it," I said to her, sternly._

"_Oh, c'mon, Blu. Where's your sense of adventure?" she asked me, heading down the basement stairs._

"_I think I accidentally got it mixed up with my common sense," I followed her down the stairs, and sure enough there was a door across the room. "C'mon, Kelly… It's probably just a bunch of Playboy magazines, or a collection of blow-up sex-dolls… or a bunch of dresses he likes to put on in his private time."_

"_Or, it's probably something more valuable than all the treasure in the house!" On that note, she unlocked the door, and we walked into a dark room._

_*Splish Splash Sploosh*_

_We froze three steps in, noticing we had stepped in a puddle that came up almost past our ankles… and it was sticky… and it stank. "This had BETTER not have anything to do with Playboys." I said, shuddering… but I knew it was something else. Something far worse…_

_Kelly found a light-switch…_

_*Click*_

"_AAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGH!" _

…_and screamed bloody-murder seconds later._

_Hanging on hooks like chunks of meat in a freezer were corpses of other women, blood dripping out the gashes in their bodies, their flesh rotting off the bone, some of them with missing limbs… one body's flesh was rotted so bad it fell off the hook and into the pool of blood._

_*Splunk!*_

"_Lets get OUT OF HERE!" I cried, grabbing Kelly._

_*Splink*_

"_I dropped the key!" Kelly gasped._

_We searched around the blood, finally finding it, and we hurried up the stairs._

_I dialed 9-1-1 while Kelly called up her family on her cell._

_*Slam* _

_I froze at the sound of a car-door slamming, seeing Bluebeard was back. "Augh! He's back!" I yelled._

"_ALREADY?" Kelly screamed. "But, how? Why?"_

_I looked around, seeing a small case in the hall. "His suitcase! He must've forgot it!"_

"_Q-Quick, run it out to him before he comes in! I'm going to wash the blood off the key!"_

"_Are you INSANE? I'm not going anywhere near that maniac! You give him his case, and I'll wash the key!"_

"_But I don't wanna!"_

"_You're his WIFE! YOU remind him of what he forgets to take! It's a basic rule in marriage!" I handed her the case and swiped the key. "Now, GO!"_

_I shoved Kelly toward the front door and dove into the bathroom, struggling to wash the key, but the blood stained it. _Damn it! If this blood doesn't come off- _I thought._

_The door flew open and I yelped. "It's just me!" Kelly said, sweating. "But I think Bluebeard is suspicious, so we've got to-"_

"_Wash that blood off your palm?" I asked sarcastically, pointing at her hands. We were in such a rush that Kelly wasn't able to wash the blood off her hands… or her ankles…_

"_SHIT!" We both cried, and ran out of the bathroom-_

_Freezing when we saw Bluebeard standing there, a gun in his hands. "Either you both had a little accident, or you went somewhere you shouldn't have…" he said coldly._

"_I-I think I'm about to have an accident now…" I gulped. He began to squeeze the trigger, and I quickly grabbed a vase off to the side and threw it at him._

_He ducked it._

…_Giving me two short seconds to run and dive out the window. Kelly tried to follow, but-_

_*BANG!*_

_I kept running, daring not to look back. The cops would be there in a minute, along with Kelly's family, so there was no reason for me to go back… I didn't want to go back._

_I was scared._

**Now…**

"…And I kept running. Running until I got home," I said. "I had hoped that Bluebeard had been captured while I made my escape, but I heard nothing about it on the news. …Then I received an e-mail."

"What did it say?" One of the little girls asked, timidly.

"Only three words: 'Next. Time. Listen.' …No doubt Bluebeard is following me- heck, he may just be in this camp, waiting to pounce."

Stefanie scoffed. "That's the dumbest story I've ever heard!" she sneered. "If he WAS after you, you'd be dead by now!"

"…Too bad he isn't, then." Georgette joked, and all the girls in red laughed.

I rolled my eyes and walked off in a grudge, even though the counselors agreed my story was the most fearsome, but I wasn't feeling victorious.

Yet.

When the girls in red returned to their cabin, they found my body hanging from a hook, blood covering the beds and floor.

They screamed so loud, the camp across the lake even shit itself.

What they didn't know was that the hook was only hooked on the back of my shirt, and that the blood was only a cherry-syrup/vinegar mix… I loved it when the counselors never noticed someone swiping their keys to the storage room.

"But you've GOT to believe us! She's dead!" one girl was shouting.

"There's blood everywhere!" another girl cried.

"Her body's hanging by a hook!" Another girl stammered.

I chuckled, slipping off the hook and climbing out the window. I wiped the fake-blood off my face, arms, legs, stomach- I'd have to get it off my back later- and off of my…

Uh, oh.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I was kicked out of the camp because of my pranks, which goes to show those sissies have no sense of humor.

I must confess, I exaggerated my horror-story. The real ending was, I hit Bluebeard in the face, making him drop the gun, which Kelly quickly grabbed- I took it from her, knowing that if she was dumb enough to marry a serial-killer before the end of a first-date, that she'd probably shoot the wrong person… either herself or me, and since I wasn't feeling lucky at the moment-

Her brothers arrived just in time, beating the shit out of Bluebeard, and the cops arrived minutes later and took the killer away, and he was executed for his murders. Kelly, being his wife, got his fortune, and her family got out of debt.

…I got zilch, which didn't surprise me.

My aunt picked me up at the gate, and immediately arched an eyebrow. "Hey, Blu, where'd you get that orange shirt?" she asked me.

I shrugged. "Ah, I got it from one of the other girls," I replied, hiding a smirk.

I looked back at the camp as we drove off, a grin creeping across my face. The girls didn't like the story I told…

…I hope they'll like the movie.

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

**A/N: …And that is how Blu got kicked out of camp. The end. XD**

**Thank you, Elizabeth, for the suggestion once again.**

**Please review. No flames or I'll send Blu to your house to tell horror-stories… actually, that sounds fun.**


	8. The Tale of a Ghost

**And now for another one-shot that should highlight your dull lives.**

**REVIEWER THANKS**

**Elizabeth: **Don't worry, I'm still around. If you check out my profile, there should be a list of reasons why I get behind in my updates. A-nee-waaay…. Hmm, Blu hates things fairytale related, but she may make an exception to a giant raven eating people's hearts. And yes, the girls in red are jerk-faces (I think I made them too similar to Red, don't you think?) Gotta love the gore. And the movie Blu picked was the movie based on the Bluebeard story ^-^ And I'll try to do the Nutcracker next, but I'm still trying to figure out a good twist for it. Glad you like this so much!

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Lillian Georgenson walked toward the barn, carrying two buckets of chicken-feed. It was early morning, too early for chores she believed, giving her a good reason to yawn as she trudged along, going through the same routine day after day: feed the animals, let the sheep out into the field, milk the cow, clean the horse's hooves, pitch the hay, gather corn, hook the mule to the plow, collect the eggs, pull up weeds in the garden, water the garden, herd the sheep back into the barn, lock up the barn…

Way too much for a ten-year-old girl.

_I thought Lincoln's new law was to keep blacks from being slaves, _She thought as she tossed the feed around the chicken-pen. _I feel as over-worked as I did before! …Except no one's whippin' me._

"Lilly!" her mother called. "Quick, come here!"

Lilly set the buckets off to the side and ran to her mother. "What is it, Mama?" she asked.

"Looky here, a telegram from your father! He's coming home from the war!"

The young girl squealed with delight. Her father had been gone since she was eight to fight in the Civil War, leaving her to help her mother take care of their new plot of land after the slaves had been freed. She missed her daddy dearly, and now that he was coming home, she felt her heart burst with excitement. "When will he be home?"

"Later this evening. Now, finish feeding the animals," she then handed her daughter a couple of coins. "And go to Mrs. Davidson's shop and buy yourself a pretty new dress."

"Yes, Mama!" Lilly took the coins and hurried to finish her chores.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Once she was finished, the little girl ran to town and to a local shop, finding a beautiful pink dress. "Excuse me, ma'am? I'd like to buy this dress." she said to the shop owner.

The owner, Mrs. Davidson, nodded and let Lilly try on the dress… only to see that it was too big, much to the young girl's displeasure. "I'm sorry, sweetie…" she said, then held up a different dress, with a small bow around the collar. "Maybe you'll fit in this one."

Lilly tried the other dress on, seeing that it was a perfect fit. _It's not as pretty as the dress I wanted… _she thought. _But it's the only other prettiest dress in the store- I just hope Daddy will think it's pretty. _"It's beautiful, may I wear it out?"

"Of course, and…" Mrs. Davidson walked over to a shelf, taking down a pink sun-hat. "For an extra nickel, you can have this hat that goes with it!"

Lilly admired the hat and checked to see how much money she had… only to see that she only had enough for the dress, and her smile faded. "I don't have a nickel. …I guess the dress will do. I just hope Daddy likes it,"

"Your daddy's coming home?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Mrs. Davidson chuckled. "Well, in that case, here- the hat is free!"

Lilly's eyes widened. "You mean it?"

"Honey, when a daughter's father survives a war and is on his way home, it's a special occasion that deserves to have every little girl looking her best. I insist." She placed the hat on Lilly's head.

"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Davidson, thank you!" She handed the store-keeper her money and ran out.

"Ya'll tell your daddy that I said hi, ya hear?"

"I sure will!" Lilly looked over at the horizon, seeing that already the sun was starting to sink. _I'd better get home before I miss Daddy's arrival! _she thought, deciding to take a short-cut through the woods.

She ran down a path that lead to her farmhouse, slowing down her steps when she heard a noise behind her. "That's a pretty little dress you've got on, little girl," A gruff voice snickered, and a burly white man with a knife stepped out. "Much too pretty for a black,"

Lilly gasped, remembering how her mother told her about all the white folk who hated blacks, and would most likely prefer them to be slaves… or dead. "Y-You keep away from me!"

"Talkin' tough, eh? That's one thing about your people- you don't know how to get along in my kind's society. Your women talk back to men, you kids are filthy… hell, you've even got our own families being influenced by your trash! And now you all think you can go around, wearing our clothes, earning our money, living on our land…" he raised his plank. "Well, lets just see how well you-"

*Thonk!*

An apple struck the man in the forehead. "What the hell? Who through that?"

"Up here," a voice said from up in a tree.

The man looked up, only to have a whole crate of apples dumped on him, and a figure leaped down and knocked him unconscious. "Whoa…" Lilly gasped, seeing that the figure was a young black boy.

"Just 'cuz we've got a war goin' on don't mean you have to bring it home, mister." he then turned to Lilly. "You okay, Lil?"

Lilly's eyes nearly popped out of her head as she recognized the boy. "Thomas! B-B-But, ya'll got run over by a carriage a long time ago! You're supposed to be d-d-d-"

"Dead? I am. I just a ghost, who decided to drop by his old hometown. Lucky I did, or else that cracker would've squashed you like a bug,"

"Oh… well, thanks… did you say 'ghost'?"

"Yep. Well, I'll see ya'll around. There's a bunch o' things I'd like to check out. Ya'll better hurry home, 'fore yer daddy beats ya there," With that, he disappeared.

"Wait, Tommy! Don't go…" she heard the burly man moaning, slowly coming to, and quickly as she could she took off down the path. _A ghost… a real ghost! Boy, wait 'til I tell Mama! _she thought.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Lilly reached her front porch, just as soon as a horse and buggy pulled up, and a man in uniform stepped out. "Daddy!" she exclaimed, running toward her father.

"Lilly! There's my little girl…" Her father exclaimed next, scooping her up into his arms. "Well, don't you look like a little princess!"

"Daddy, you won't believe what I-"

"Roger, is that you?" Lilly's mother cried, running out and hugging her husband. "Oh, honey, I missed you so much!"

"I missed you all too. Glad to see our little homestead is still standing, and that the war hasn't touched either of you," Lilly's father replied, hugging his daughter and wife. "It's good to have a home to come home to,"

They went inside, where dinner awaited them. "Mama, Papa, you won't believe what happened." Lilly said. "I was going through the woods and came across some burly man who tried to attack me…"

"Goodness! Lilly, are you alright? Why didn't you say something before?" Her mother gasped.

"I'm alright, Mama. Thomas saved me,"

"Thomas?" Her father asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Thomas O'Davis, the boy who got run over two years back."

"Now, how could a dead boy save your life?" Her mother scoffed.

"His ghost saved me, Mama."

Her father chuckled. "Ah, Lilly, you come up with the funniest little tales," he said.

"But it's true-"

"Speaking of tales, how would the two of you like to hear about how I made it across the battlefield?"

"That sounds exciting," Lilly's mother replied.

Lilly shrugged. _Should've known they wouldn't believe me… _she thought, sadly. "Yeah, sounds like a great tale," she said, half-heartedly.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Meanwhile outside, the burly man watched the family, sneering. Rolling a barrel of kerosene over, he hid in the bushes by their house, waiting for them to fall asleep.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"So, did you bring me anything back from the war?" Lilly asked her father, sitting on his lap in the living room.

"Lilly," her mother chuckled.

"Now, dear, I never forget to bring home some gifts," Her father replied, then pulled out a gold locket, handing it to her mother. "For you, a little keep-sake to remember me by, wherever you go."

She gasped. "It's beautiful…"

"And for you, Lilly…" he pulled out a pink knit-cap. "A nice hat for you to wear this winter."

Lilly took off her sunhat and tried on the knit-cap. "It's a perfect fit!" she said, then hugged her father. "Thank you, Daddy! I'm never gonna take it off, never!"

"Alright, Lilly, it's time for bed," Her mother said, patting her daughter on the head.

"Aw, Mama, can't I stay up with Daddy a little longer?"

"Don't worry, sugar. We'll have plenty of time to spend together in the morning," Her father chuckled, then gave her a peck on the forehead. "Now, mind your mama and go get some rest."

"Yes, papa." Lilly climbed off her father's lap and went upstairs, putting on a light-yellow short-sleeved night-gown and crawling into bed, smiling as she fell asleep, thinking about all the things she wanted to do with her father: play in the field, go horse-back riding, roll down hay-bales, swing on the tire swing tied to the big oak down by the sheep-field, go swimming in the pond, and listen to him tell her stories as they sit in the field, watching the sunset…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Once all the lights were out, the burly man got to work pouring kerosene around the house, then struck a match, throwing it to the ground. He snickered, backing away as the house went up in flames, then started heading to the woods.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Lilly woke up to the smell of smoke, her eyes widening when she saw fire outside her window. "Mama! Papa! Fire!" she screamed, running out of her room to warn her parents…

Freezing when she saw fire was all around. She heard her parents screaming her name from down the hall. She ran to them, only to have her path blocked by a burning rafter, which held the door shut. _I've got to find help! _she thought, turning around and running to the front door, only to see that it was in flames as well.

She saw an open window and ran for it, not noticing a burning rafter falling right towards her-

"_Daddy!" Lilly wailed, sitting up in bed, tears running down her eyes._

"_Baby, what is it?" Her father gasped, rushing in. "Is something wrong? Why aren't you asleep?"_

"_I-I had this bad dream, where you and Mama were gone, and I was trapped in a house full of monsters, and this big lizard was trying to eat me!" she sobbed. "It was so scary…"_

_He wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry, sweetie, it was only a nightmare… only a nightmare… only a nightmare…"_

_Only a nightmare… _Lilly opened her eyes, seeing that she was lying in a field, looking up at the blue sky. _That's it. It was all just a nightmare. I must've fallen asleep during my chores! _She got up, turning to run to her house. "Mama, you won't believe-"

She stopped.

She didn't have to run to her house…

She was already there.

Ashes was what remained of her home, her family nowhere to be seen. "Mama? Papa?" she gasped, running around, searching for any trace of them. "Mama! Where are you?" She then noticed something on the ground…

Her mother's locket, burned from gold to black.

It wasn't a dream… it was a living nightmare.

"No… Mom… Dad…" she sobbed, then ran to town, tears running down her eyes. "Help, someone help! My parents are dead! Help!"

Everyone in the town looked at her, horrified. "Is that… Georgenson's daughter?" a woman gasped.

"Couldn't be! She and her family died in a fire a week ago!" An old man replied.

"Ghost! It's another ghost!" Someone screamed, and soon the whole town was in a frenzy.

"No, wait, please! Please help me!" Lilly cried, but no one stopped. "Please, I don't know what to do, I-"

"Take this, ya ghost!" A man shouted, shooting a bullet at her.

Lilly screamed… her scream increasing when she saw that the bullet went right through her! _Oh, Lordy, no! I AM a ghost… _she realized.

"You, idiot, you can't kill a ghost!" another man snapped. "Run! Run for your lives, before it tries to possess ya!"

Lilly only stood there, watching as everyone ran and screamed from her, looking at her with horror… just like they used to do when her family were slaves and were first brought to this town. Sniffling, she ran off, running as fast as she could. Now that she was a ghost and could no longer feel tired, she just kept running…

And running…

And running…

And running…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Lilly didn't know how long she was running, until she came to the ocean… noticing she could run on water as well… so she kept going, until she reached an island. _What is this place? _She wondered, slowing down her pace, deciding to explore her new surroundings.

She explored the island for years, watching as new houses were built, and new people came. She passed by a neighborhood, where she saw a blonde-haired boy sitting in a tree in a field, looking out at a castle. She wanted to walk up and say 'hello', but didn't know how he would react around a black girl… let alone a ghost. She only continued on.

During her travels, she learned how to walk through things, and turn herself invisible. The craziest thing she learned (after accidentally walking off a cliff) was that she could fly, so she spent the rest of her journey soaring through the skies, laughing and giggling, forgetting about her sorrows.

She came across a forest next, sitting by the creek, when she saw the strangest thing: an elf, running off with a sack of kittens. "What in tarnation?" she asked, following the creature.

Suddenly, a bunch of different creatures- some she didn't have names for- leaped out and tackled the elf, setting the kittens free. One of them was a blue creature with blonde hair, looking female. "Alexander Pix, you're under arrest for animal abuse and rape!" she snapped.

"Damn you…" was all the elf said, glowering as two ogres dragged him away.

Lilly only gawked, then followed the creatures to a tall Victorian-like house, reaching as high as the sky, the sign outside reading: "Pent Towers, Prison for the Supernatural." _Weird… I must've died and gone to Crazyland. _she thought, then walked inside. To her surprise, there was a variety of odd-creatures, and just when she thought she saw regular people, they walked through walls. _Guess I ain't the only ghost around, no more._

Seeing a receptionist desk, she walked up to it, seeing the same blue creature from before. "Excuse me, ma'am, but can you help me?" she asked, meekly.

The blue creature turned to her. "Yes, who are you? How did you get here?" she replied.

"My name's Lilly Georgenson. I lost my family some time back and I've been dead for years… I thought I'd be in Heaven, but I'm a ghost. Can you help me?"

The blue creature sighed. "(great, another lost spirit) …Sorry, kid, but you won't find a way to Heaven here,"

Lilly sighed, then turned to leave. "Alright… thanks anyway…"

"Well, now, hold on, you don't have to go. It's a little dangerous for ghosts to be out and about in the world- cause too much of a disturbance for the living. Why don't you stick around here for a while, and we'll find some way to help, alright?"

Lilly nodded. "Okay… What should I do until then?"

"Lets see, you're a ghost, so… why don't you harass some of our prisoners? They've been causing trouble lately and need someone to bother them back."

Lilly shrugged, deciding to take up the task. After all, it's not every day she was surrounded by the supernatural. And who knew? Perhaps there was a reason she found this place…

A reason that could help her be reunited with her family.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

**A/N: I felt like putting in a back-story on how Lilly arrived in Pent Towers… though I think my Civil War reference was a little off :p**

**Anyway, review, don't flame, and give me some suggestions!**


	9. Blu's Nuttiest Crack of a Tale

**Now for another Blu-shot.**

**REVIEWER THANKS**

**Elizabeth: **Once again, I'VE BEEN BUSY! …And thank you for those facts as well. And you think YOU live in a cave? I never even HEARD of Bluebeard! Thanks for your ideas, but I think I'll have an idea coming at me any second (but I'm gonna say this: I'm gonna make it more darker). And if your memory's going rusty, here's an idea: Re-read the stories! (it'll also help you get through every day that I don't update). And it's the 150th anniversary of the Civil War? 0_0 Boy, do I need a calendar… Thank you for your suggestion, though I've never heard of it but I'll look it up.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Ever have those days were you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?

Well, picture a day where you wake up on the wrong side of the bed… in the wrong bed.

Yeah. Not fun.

Not too pleasant to be bound and gagged, either.

How did I end up in this position? Frankly, I have no idea. One minute I'm sound asleep in a boarding house I found a month ago, and the next thing I know I'm waking up with a sock in my mouth. Maybe I was kidnapped, or maybe the owner's kid, Bobby, thought it would be funny to play 'pirates' while I was asleep.

All I know was I wasn't dreaming… otherwise I would've woken up at the sound of screams.

I looked over, seeing a young girl, about 14 (my age), standing off to the side, watching as an 18-year-old guy who looked as if he were made of wood was stabbed by an overweight, hairy, yellow-eyed guy who smelled like vermin, who fell flat on his back, next.

Ah, yes, it's all coming back to me now.

I had taken up a job house-sitting for a couple, the Silberhaus', while they were away. I was giving an extra-task in watching their kids, Clara and Fritz, until they returned, which was supposed to be around Christmas Eve…. Don't ask me why I was told to watch over a girl my own age and a boy who's only two years younger than me, because I'm still trying to figure it out. Well, the day before Christmas was upon us, and the parents had yet to return. The kids started getting worried, so I decided- just to shut up their whimpering- to let them open one of their presents early. Fritz opened his and got a bunch of tin soldiers, while Clara got a nut-cracker.

Can you believe it? These people lived in a mansion the size of Nebraska, and they buy their daughter a nutcracker. They make millions of dollar during the day, and they get her a simple, wooden, nutcracker. …And I thought my uncle Chestnut was cheap.

ANYWAY, Clara doesn't necessarily like the gift and throws it on the floor, where one of its teeth gets chipped, and she throws a tantrum. Fritz goes to bed while Clara complains to me about how her parents don't love her and how it's the worst Christmas ever, and a ton of other things that I could care less about (As you can probably tell, I wasn't really listening). Just when the night couldn't get any worse, the star from the top of the tree fell and broke on Clara's head, and a bunch of sparkling dust poured out and spread around the room… then we began to shrunk. _As if I wasn't short enough… _Was the first thing that popped into my mind. The second thing was _Holy shit! _because the room started to flood with mice, the gingerbread men came to life along with some of the toys (Nutcracker included), and the mice fought the toys and gingerbread men- batteries and crumbs flew everywhere, while the Nutcracker led me and Clara away from the havoc.

…In the meantime, I was wondering if Fritz didn't put something in my eggnog.

Well, then I had a feeling I was whisked away back to Fairytale Land because we entered the play-room where Fritz had set up a model of a pine forest… and I began to suspect that the only reason I was ordered to watch a couple kids way past the baby-sitting phase was because their parents still treat them like toddlers, by the way the playroom was decorated (I'd go into detail, but I don't want to risk throwing up). Anyway, once we entered the plastic pine-forest, the Nutcracker suddenly turned into a Prince (though he still looked like he was made of wood), and Clara goes ga-ga over him.

(I'm sorry, but hadn't she just chucked him across the room less than an hour ago?)

Luckily for my stomach, they weren't able to get into any romantic business because some hairy guy, with a few mice behind him, interrupted everything and we had to high-tail it again. I had no doubts that, by the way this guy was controlling his rodents, he was dubbed the Mouse King. We ran across the room and climbed up to a table full of sweets, the mice following.

I don't exactly know what happened next because I tripped over a candy-cane and someone knocked me out with a gumdrop.

I came to, just in time to see that the Prince had been stabbed… though, so had the Mouse King, and as the Prince slowly began to die, his body stiffened, looking more wooden than usual... Both of them died, Clara cried, and I kept asking myself: "What the Grimm was in the eggnog?"

Then, suddenly, the sparkling dust surrounded us ONCE A-FRICKIN'-GAIN, and Clara and I found ourselves back in the living room, our regular sizes and the toys lifeless. She then scooped up the nutcracker she had broken and hugged it tightly. I only rolled my eyes, asking her why she suddenly loved that doll so much.

Boy, I wish I hadn't asked.

"I had a dream that he was actually a prince, and we fell in love," Clara said to me, a tear forming in her eyes. "Then this horrible man who called himself the Mouse King kidnapped you and me, locking us in a dungeon. He was about to rape me when the Prince showed up and killed him…" tears ran down her cheeks. "Me and the Prince were about to share a kiss before the Mouse King gave one last stab and killed him…" she sighed. "Then I wake up to find it was just a dream."

"Seriously… did Fritz do something to the eggnog?" I asked, looking into my cup.

"I'm serious! It was so real…" she sighed again and tossed the toy into the hall. "Oh, well… I guess dreams will always be just that: dreams."

_He seemed too old for her, anyway. _I thought, looking out the window and seeing her parents pull up. "Your parents are finally home,"

Clara's smile returned, and she raced for the door. We watched as her parents came in, and- surprisingly- her Uncle Drosselmeier (lets just call him 'Dross')… followed by a kid the same age as we were. "Sorry for being late, girls," Clara's father said. "But your grandpa called from his toy-store, saying that he needed a ride."

"I figured I'd bring a friend with me as well," Clara's grandfather said. "This is Hans. He works with me in my shop, and I figured he could spend Christmas with us, since his family is out of town,"

I looked at Hans, who smiled at me and Clara- well, mostly Clara- and instantly I was reminded of someone with black hair, gentle blue eyes, a soft smile… and a habit of wearing suspenders (luckily, Hans wasn't wearing any, for the sake of giving first-impressions I guess).

I sighed and walked out. "Merry Christmas," I said to the family, and they bid me one as well, and I walked back to the boarding house, where Bobby and his family had fallen asleep by their Christmas tree.

I went up to my room, watching as the snow fell, softly hitting the glass on my window. I heard footsteps, and saw Bobby come in. "Sky? Are you in here?" he whispered.

"No, it's Humpty Dumpty," I replied sarcastically. "I thought you were asleep."

The kid crawled onto my bed. "I heard someone come in and saw you come upstairs. I was worried you weren't going to come home,"

I scoffed, tussling his hair. "C'mon, Bobby, you know you can't get rid of me that easily. Now, why don't you go off to bed? Santa doesn't visit kids who stay wide-awake,"

"Will you tell me a story, first? For Christmas?"

I chuckled. Ever since I came here, I've been telling Bobby the true versions of the Fairytales (only I left out the adult-contents, swearing, and crude parts, since the kid's only four), and he's been asking for a bed-time story from me ever since.

It wasn't that hard to run out of stories, since some kept coming to me in dreams. …And tonight, I told him my version of the 'Nutcracker Prince'- only, rather than saying that the prince was killed as well, I just skipped to the part where Clara and I woke up. And within that short five minutes, Bobby drifted to sleep on my lap, the last words he said were, "Merry Christmas, Sky,"

"Merry Christmas, Bobby," I whispered. I waited a minute before slipping out of my bed.

Just FYI, 'Sky' was an alias I was using while I was out of Fairytale Land, so no one could track me down and haul me back… let alone kill me.

I walked over to my backpack, where I pulled out a blue teddy-bear. I crawled back in bed, looking out the window at the snowy sky.

"Merry Christmas, Pin," I sighed, then fell asleep next to Bobby.

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

**A/N: I thought about how Blu used to tell stories to Bobby, so I decided to throw that plot in here. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Please review. There's rabid cats planted in your room who will attack at my command, so unless you want your face ripped off, do NOT flame.**


	10. Small Luck

I'm bored… so here's another one-shot.

**Reviewer Thanks**

**Elizabeth: **Interesting idea you sent me, but I think I'll decline (my head is full of enough of them as it is). Keep in mind, Blu's versions tend to be WAAAAAY more different than the original fairytales (though you got me on the 'transformation' part, I may fix that later). …I agree. Rabid fan-girls = psychotic! Glad you still liked it!

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jack Klihmer was a hansom boy, and very athletic, full of charm, and had quite a heart. He wasn't born that way, though. Oh, no. His father raised him to be that way. "A man isn't based on what he's worth, but the worth of his heart." he would always say. "Your spirit is either pure of gold, or rancid like sludge."

Jack loved his father, more than life itself…

Life ended for him when his father passed away from appendicitis. He left his family broken-hearted… and broke.

Yes, when Jack's father died, so did their profits for their farm. Crops stopped growing, livestock stopped reproducing, animals grew sickly… it was as if everything Jack cherished was dying all around him. After the winter of his father's death, he and his mother had gone into debt, and hardly had enough money for one of McDonald's Dollar-Menu offers.

Jack took a walk one day, heading for the cemetery, seeing a girl kneeling in front of a couple graves. He walked over, noticing at a closer range the solemn look on her face. "I wouldn't get any closer, if I were you." A voice out of nowhere said.

Jack paused, looking around. "Who said that?" he asked himself.

"Down here,"

Jack looked down, seeing a small boy next to him.

Really small.

Very, very, very small.

Heck, the kid was so small, an inch-worm would look like an anaconda compared to him!

"Hi, I'm Tom Thumb." The boy said, sticking out his teeny-tiny hand.

Jack blinked once, then stuck out his index finger for Tom to shake. "Uh, Jack Klihmer." he replied, trying to overcome the fact that he was talking to the world's tiniest person. "So… why can't I talk to that girl over there?"

"You've never met Bluskyrobinaquamarine Carson?" Jack shook his head 'no', and Tom shrugged. "Well, I suppose some people _are _considered lucky…"

_Not from my perspective… _Jack thought, bitterly.

"I'd wait a while before you decide to introduce yourself. She's in a pretty sour mood… well, more sour than usual."

Jack looked over at the girl again, watching as she walked away from the graves. "Did someone she know die?"

Tom sighed. "Her parents. They died a year ago, and she's been depressed ever since."

"Whoa… How did they die?"

"House fire. She was the only one who made it out, and she's living with her aunt, uncle, and cousin now." Tom watched the girl walk into the woods, shaking his head. "It's hard to remember a day when she actually smiled."

Jack looked over at his own father's grave. _I guess I'm not the only one who's lost something. _he thought.

"So, what brings you here?"

Jack shrugged. "My father died a while back. Just thought I'd visit his grave," he replied, solemnly.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that,"

"Yeah, you and everyone else," Jack began to walk off.

"I never knew my parents."

Jack paused, looking at Tom. "Huh?"

"I'm a hybrid. Part nymph, part sorcerer. My father didn't want me, and my mother died while I was an infant. I was raised by an old couple who found me in their garden. …Funny thing is, an old woman who lived down the road from them happened to find a girl the same size as me in her flowerbed the same day." he then sighed, shaking his head. "Though, I'm an orphan now, since my foster-parents grew fatally ill and passed away last month."

"Ouch…" Jack cringed. His father had just died, yet so far today he found out a girl had lost both his parents, and Tom had no family at all. "So, where do you live, now?"

Tom shrugged. "Anywhere, actually. Sometimes I share a hole with a few rabbits, sleep in an empty bird's nest- though, since they keep trying to feed me to their chicks, I decided to stick to the ground… But, you know, anywhere that's comfortable."

Jack sighed. "Well, that makes two of us."

"What do you mean?"

"My mom and I are in debt. If we don't come up with some money soon, we're going to lose our house." he sat down, resting his head in his hands. "It's basically hopeless for us…"

Tom walked over, sitting on top of his shoe. "Nothing's hopeless. You just need to find a way of making money."

"Well… Mom talked about selling some of the animals, except they're all sick. The only good one we got is a cow."

"Have you tried looking for a job?"

Jack gave him a sneer. "I'm ten! I can't get a job yet!"

Tom cringed. "Sorry. People look taller from my perspective, so I mistake their ages sometimes. Heck, others hardly know… my…" he then snapped his fingers. "Wait, I've got an idea!"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Tom and Jack stood on the street corner, with a cardboard box booth set up with a sign reading "Guess My Age- $1.00 per try". In a few minutes, people were stopping by, taking a knack at trying to guess Tom's age.

By the end of the day, they had made fifteen dollars.

By the end of the week, they made fifty.

By the end of the month, two-hundred.

…Yet it still wasn't enough, and Jack had to sell the cow. Tom met him in the woods, catching up with him. "What's the matter?" he asked, seeing the sad look on Jack's face.

"We're still in debt… and I've got to market-off Ol' Nelly if we're going to have dinner tonight…"

Tom climbed up his pant-leg and onto his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure thing's will look up-"

"No, they won't!" Jack's words came out harsher than he intended, and Tom nearly fell off his shoulder. "Don't you get it? We've tried all month, and nothing's worked out! It's hopeless! H-O-P-E-L-E-S-S! HOPELESS!"

*SMACK!*

…For a little guy, Tom could throw a good punch. "Listen up, Jack! You may be on the verge of losing faith, but there's others who have lost more than you have, let alone never had any of it, and they still managed to look on the bright side! Just because things look bleak now doesn't mean they'll stay that way! Someday, your luck will make a change for the better, and before you know it, you'll be living the high life!"

Jack sneered. "Well, I don't have a castle in the sky, yet."

Tom hopped off his shoulder and onto a low tree branch. "Just keep your head up, kid, and you'll get one."

Jack continued to walk, then paused, looking back at Tom. "You know… you never DID tell me what your actual age was."

Tom shrugged. "13." With that, the incredibly-small boy walked across the branch and disappeared in the leaves.

Jack nodded, then continued his way.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**13 years later…**

_Jack stood at the large grave-stone, the largest in all Fairytale history. He sat on his knees, reading the name on it over and over until it stuck in his head: _

_Tom Thumb_

_Age, Unknown_

_A Tiny Lad_

_A Big Hero_

_He winced, recalling how he had grown a bond with Tom. The boy, though small, had a heart big enough to spread throughout the world, and he had sacrificed his own life in order to take down the Red Fairy's dragon and help save Fairytale Land. _

_But, in Jack's perspective, he had done more… He had gave him confidence he thought he never had, telling him about all the heights he'd achieve if he put his mind to it._

_And he did. When he saw that bean-stalk grow out of the ground, he was scared, but recalled Tom's words, as if he was still standing on his shoulder talking into his ear. Before he knew it, he had enough gold to save his farm and have a new place… on a cloud in the sky._

_It was almost as if Tom knew Jack would succeed… though, it probably surprised him to know that Jack wanted to share the castle with him, considering the ecstatic look on his face._

_Jack was still successful… though, now that Tom was gone, he felt as poor as he did when he lost his father._

"_Thank you, Tom…" Jack whispered to the grave, then turned and left, tears falling from his eyes._

_At the end of the road, he saw Blu- the other hero of Fairytale Land- watching him, though she turned away, deciding to leave him be, and he sensed a bit of déjà vu. He shook his head and continued on, his hopes plummeting…_

'_Nothing is hopeless…' Tom's voice resounded in his head._

_Jack looked back at the grave, noticing a beam of light shining on it. He smirked a bit, feeling a bit of confidence returning. "Even in death, you manage to show me the bright side," he said, then continued on, his heart no longer feeling empty._

0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: Review.

No flames.


	11. Nicknames

Well, here's another Blu-shot. This one takes place after "Three Boys, Three Problems".

**Reviewer Thanks**

**Fangface the Second: **Glad to have inspired you ^-^

**Elizabeth: **The troll fight (I'll save that for when I feel like practicing with my machete l:} ) And the Len fan-girls may be crazy, but they ain't got nothing on the Host Club fan-girls! (trust me, there's a ton out there) To answer your question… probably none. Tell me about it (be glad YOU don't have to spell it). Hmm, the ghost of Anchantor… quite an idea ;) And, YAY! ANOTHER ANTI-TWILIGHT FAN! =DDDDD (to answer your question, YES, I SHALL have Izzy do that rant DO NOT LET ME FORGET!) …As for the guessing-game, I'm gonna guess Full Metal Alchemist.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Jimmy Krook had a nickname for everyone in High School, whether it were a classmate or teacher. He'd often call the principal, Mrs. Fame, "Fame 'n' Fortune", or the kids in the kindergarten class "Manic Munchkins".

Not really the best nicknames… but namely because he would save the best ones for his friends, Danny Charmm, Nadine "Radio" Tianavene, and Rudy Homes.

…Well, Danny and Radio at least. Danny, having come from royalty and being the youngest heir to his late-parents' throne, his nickname was "Princy" (or "Princess", when Jimmy was feeling insultive- which was almost 99% of the time). And Radio's was either Rad or Cat-Girl, since she had once been turned into a cat for 200 years (yet during the spell she remained 14, for reasons unknown).

Rudy was the only one without a nickname, and when he first realized this, he began to feel left-out.

Oh, sure, he had several nicknames given to him by others… but they weren't exactly the friendliest, especially when they came from his older twin-siblings, Chris and Chrys. Because of his homosexuality, almost everyone except his friends and adults would call him "fag", "gay-guy", "boy-band fan", "Twilight Teen" or the worst one "Homes the Homo". Danny and Radio stuck up for him, of course, though Jimmy in the meantime kept to himself.

_Maybe he doesn't like me, _Rudy thought one day when some kid in the hallway called him "faggot" by Jimmy, yet the rebel didn't say or do anything to defend him. _Maybe that's why he hasn't given me a nick-name…_

He walked home with Danny, who was staying with him and his family (since his castle had been burned to the ground and no one could find any of his relatives), and Rudy brought up the subject. "Jimmy considers us friends, right?" he asked.

"I suppose so, if you don't count how he threatens to dunk my head in a toilet on a regular basis," Danny replied. He and Jimmy didn't exactly get along, having been raised in completely different worlds (he was raised in a castle, while the rebel had to fend for himself in the ghetto).

"But do you think he likes us?"

The prince shrugged. "Perhaps, otherwise he wouldn't come by the house to hang out with us. …Why do you care if he likes us or not?"

Rudy sighed. "Well… he doesn't exactly stick up for me like you and Radio do, you know?" He decided to leave out the 'nickname' reason, so not to sound demanding. "He just stands and watches, like it's no big deal-"

"It is a big deal," A voice said behind them, and they saw Jimmy and Radio walking up to them, Jimmy being the one who had spoken. "That's why you need to learn to stick up for yourself, rather than waiting for Radio or your Prince Charming to come to your rescue."

…"Prince Charming" was yet another nickname Jimmy gave to Danny, as reference to the time he woke up from unconsciousness to see Rudy kissing Danny on the lips, believing he was under some sort of sleep-spell. …That, and Danny's last name was "Charmm".

Jimmy stepped up to Rudy, looming over him… It was easy for anyone to loom over Rudy, since he was the shortest boy in their group. "You can't rely on other people's help forever, Homes. Sometimes you have to look out for yourself. …Believe me, I know." He then stepped past him, walking ahead.

"I'm afraid James is right, Rudolph." Radio said. "Someday Danny and I won't be around to help you out. You must learn how to handle your bully problems yourself,"

Danny could only nod. He remembered how Rudy told him how his siblings had abused and taunted him all his life, yet he never said a word after they threatened to kill him… though the prince finally convinced him it was time to stop keeping secrets, and now the twins were forced to do chores and take anger-management classes. _His problems would've been solved sooner if he wasn't afraid. _he thought, but didn't dare say to his friend. _Perhaps it is time he started standing up for himself._

Rudy sighed and kept walking. "Yeah… I know." he said quietly. He had been trying to stand up for himself for years, but was just too nervous. The only time he wasn't nervous was when Danny was in trouble, a madman named Jacque preparing to shoot him… but he shot the villain first.

It wasn't the right thing to do, and he wasn't proud of himself… and he vowed not to ever touch a gun again… but it was for Danny's sake (let alone the madman had Radio shot and nearly killed), which was the only reason that kept him from crying after thinking about it.

But that was different. His friend's life was at stake- all their lives were at stake!- but the problems at school… they were just average bully-problems, mere teasing- something that didn't give him much cause to raise a gun to their heads.

It was like being trapped- he had no idea what to do.

0o0o0o0o0

The four friends gathered at Rudy's house that afternoon to catch a movie on TV. The twins were out, having been invited to a party for the High School body (which Rudy and Danny- from experience- decided to skip, and Radio decided not to go if her friends didn't go, and Jimmy decided to stay behind for the plain fact that he didn't necessarily like everyone in school). Rudy's parents decided to go out for dinner and a movie, which meant the friends had the house to themselves.

The movie didn't start for another hour, giving the kids some free time. Jimmy and Danny decided to play videogames while Radio decided to take a quick nap (still getting used to being human, she always tended to take 'cat-naps' in the afternoons). Rudy went upstairs to tidy up his room, all the while try to clear his head, trying to figure out how to defend himself. He decided to listen to some music while he thought, turning on his stereo.

_~Come here rude boy, boy, can you get it up?~_

_~Come here rude boy, boy, are you big enough?~_

_~Take it, take it, baby baby~_

_~Take it, take it, love me love me~_

"Ooh, I like this song," Rudy thought, and began to move to the rhythm of the song's beat.

_~Come here rude boy, boy, can you get it up?~_

_~Come here rude boy, boy, are you big enough?~_

_~Take it, take it, baby baby~_

_~Take it, take it, love me love me~_

His movement then turned to dancing, and by the second verse he was jamming out.

_~Do you like it boy?~_

_~I wa-wa-want what you wa-wa-want~_

_~Give it to me baby like boom boom boom~_

_~What I wa-wa-want is what you wa-wa-want~_

_~Na na…~_

"_Come here rude boy, boy can you get it up_?" Rudy was singing along now. "_Come here rude boy, boy are you big enough? Take it, take it, baby baby, take it take it, love me love me…!"_

"Yeah, shake it!" A voice called, startling him, and he turned to see Jimmy watching him from the doorway.

"Jimmy!" Rudy gasped, and quickly turned off his stereo. "What the… how did… how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you shake your ass and bump your hip against the dresser. You got some killer moves, Rudy." With that and a chuckle, Jimmy left.

…Leaving Rudy to blush a very deep shade of red.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day at school, some kid shoved Rudy against a locker. "Hey, dick-sucker, there's a pair of panties lying on the floor in the boy's locker room. They belong to you, or your little girlfriend, Radio?" he asked, teasingly.

Rudy sneered, not taking kindly to the boy trash-talking about Radio. "No, but I guess they might belong to your mom. She must've left them behind while she was screwing the janitor," he replied.

The kid glared and raised his fist, preparing to punch him… but another kid stopped him. It was the kid who had called him "faggot", and for some reason he had a black eye. "Don't do it, man." he whispered. "This kid has hardcore backup,"

"Yeah, like who?" The other kid asked. The kid with the black eye looked around, then whispered in his ear, and his gaze turned to shock. He let go of Rudy. "Alright, ho- I mean, Rudy, I'll let it slide. Just don't say trash about my mom, got it?"

"Don't make fun of me, and maybe I won't," Rudy said coldly, then walked off. He went around the corner, where he saw Jimmy standing by his locker. "Thanks."

Jimmy arched an eyebrow. "For what?" he scoffed.

Rudy rolled his eyes. "Danny and Radio wouldn't go as far as to give someone a black-eye… And you're basically the only one out of the rest of us who'd end up punching someone. So, thanks."

Jimmy sneered. "I think you've listened to too many Rihanna songs. Like I said before, I don't stand up to someone who can fend for themselves," he picked up his backpack and started to head off. "See ya later, Rude-Boy."

Rudy began walking. As he did, he couldn't help but smile.

Jimmy, whether he denied it or not, considered him a friend after all.

0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: And that's how Rudy got his nickname.

So… I'm now open for suggestions- song-fics even!

Please review. No flames or you'll end up like the kid with the black-eye (only worse!)


	12. Troll Hunt!

Okay, everyone, here's another Blu-shot, after almost a year of hiatus! This is just going to be mostly a crack-shot, since I'm just writing to blow off some steam. Sort of a random idea, sent by _ElizabethTheAwesomeOtaku_ a while back, so it doubles as a shout-out to her as well ^-^

**Year-Awaited Reviewer Thanks**

**Elizabeth: **The funniest type of fan-girl? Hmm, I'd say any kind who goes for yaoi. Don't ask why, I don't understand how they find that hot, but their nose-bleed reactions are hilarious; I'm more into Chibi Vampire (or Karin, as it's also called); We all get picked on by someone (one reason why I'm writing now).

**Fangface the Second: **Thanks for the song suggestions.

Slight warning: This contains a lot of filthy language. Please read with caution.

0o0o0o0o0

*BAM!*

Rudy shrieked as his bedroom door was broken down, and Izzy stood in the doorway, machine guns on her back. "IZZY! What in God's name are you doing?" he yelped.

"Get dressed, kid. We've got a mission," Izzy replied, tossing a shirt and pair of jeans at him.

"What? A mission? But-"

"Got an e-mail from Blu a while ago. Apparently, some troll on Youtube has been flaming her non-stop about some comment she made, going as far as telling her to go kill herself. …So we're going to go track the bastard down and give him a piece of our mind."

"You mean you barged into my room looking like Xena meets Rambo, just over some flamer?"

"Call up Jimmy too, while I wake up Danny."

"Wha…? Izzy! It's FOUR IN THE FRICKIN' MORNING!"

"I know. This way we can catch the troll by surprise. Now get moving!"

Rudy groaned, burying his face in his pillow. _And to think, my life became this all because I brought home a talking cat… _he thought.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Safe to say Jimmy wasn't happy about being wakened so early in the morning. "IT'S FOUR IN THE FUCKING MORNING!" he shouted.

"I know, but Izzy's not going to leave until we go with her to help Blu…" Rudy groaned. "Just please come over, she's carrying machine guns!"

"Fine… but if this turns out to be a joke, I'm kicking your ass until your guts spill out your mouth!" With that, he hung up.

Izzy walked in, dragging Danny. "I don't see why we have to join…" he muttered.

"Because Blu needs all the backup she can get. Now you two lovebirds get dressed!" Izzy commanded.

Danny and Rudy bitterly slid into their clothes then followed Izzy outside, where they saw that Blu, Pin, and Wolf awaited them. "Hey, you managed to get them out here. Nice." Blu said.

"How did you guys get here?" Rudy asked, surprised.

"By train, how else?" Wolf responded. "Turns out our troll has been tracked to your neighborhood."

"Oh, great…"

Jimmy arrived then, Radio at his side. "So, where's this troll?" he asked grouchily, obviously in the 'don't fuck with me' mood.

"According to my hacking records, his house should be down the street, second house to the left," Izzy replied.

They walked down the street, and Radio turned to Blu. "So, what did this flamer say to you, exactly?" she asked.

"Ah, I was watching a video about vampires and werewolves, and it involved a scene from those damn Twilight movies." Blu scoffed. "I just stated how Twilight is an insult to both species, how they went from feared creatures from the night to sex-symbols, and some dude started flaming me about it, saying… oh, what was it, again?"

"'Shut your mouth you fucking whore, before I hunt you down and kick your fucking ass. Twilight is an awesome movie, and if you just stop shit-talking it and watch the film, you'd understand how cool it is and stop being a fucking bitch like every other fucking asshole who criticizes it.'" Wolf replied, and everyone gave him a look. "Uh… I was reading over her shoulder when she got it."

"Goodness." Radio gasped. "How did you respond?"

"Well, first I was all, 'Okay, stop dropping the f-bombs, psycho. I was only stating my opinion.'" Blu replied. "And the idiot responds back, 'Fuck your opinion, cunt!' and then I said, 'Alright, you potty-mouthed fuck, you want a flame-war? You got one! Twilight sucks, and you're nothing but a retarded faggot who gets an orgasm every time you see a vampire covered in glitter'. THEN he replied, 'Go fuck yourself, bitch! You're nothing but a dick-sucking blah blah blah, flame, flame flame…' He just went on and on with insults, until he finally ended with, 'Vampires and werewolves have always been sex-symbols anyway, always wanting to fuck someone'."

"Yeah, I didn't take kindly to that," Wolf sneered.

"So what did you do next?" Jimmy asked.

"I merely responded with, 'You're going to get your ass kicked TONIGHT'." Blu said. "And the douche responds with, 'You don't even know where I live, whore. Why don't you do the world a favor and just fucking kill yourself!'."

"That's when she called me and asked me to hack into his system and track him down," Izzy added. "I figure we can do the world a favor and get rid of the little shit-talker."

"All this because he just insulted you?" Rudy asked, stunned.

"Rudy. The kid told Blu to kill herself. He insulted every vampire and werewolf on the planet- which, being half werewolf, I won't take kindly either- and he was acting like a total dick just because someone didn't like some movie." Jimmy replied. "If you ask me, this kid was _begging _for an ass-kicking."

"Trolls like him are basically cowards, anyway." Pin added. "They're all talk over the internet, but once someone faces them in person, they break down. We'll just show the kid what happens when he goes too far with cyber-bullying."

"…Let alone going on a rant about how GREAT that damn saga is," Izzy scoffed. "I can list several reasons why it sucks."

"For one thing, they throw in too many pretty-boys," Blu started.

"And they make vampires sparkle like frickin' pixies,"

"And how the werewolves HAVE to take off their shirts every ten minutes of screen-time!"

"And how the chick is some depressed emo!"

"And the vampire is no better, all 'oh, I can't age, we can't be together unless you're a vampire and you shouldn't be' and she just ends up becoming one in the last movie!"

"And how she wants to get all over him, despite he's abstinent… which, actually, is the only good thing about that story." Wolf put in. "But it's basically contradictory since all the guys have to show half their bodies off!"

"And they pretty much ripped off 'Beauty and the Beast'." Izzy threw in. "I mean, girl who no one understands falls for a guy who believes himself to be a monster… There's even a scene where they dance to classical music!"

"And if it's not that, it's the over-use of the whole 'vampire vs. werewolf' cliché," Blu added. "I didn't mind that idea during the Underworld movies… but since they turned it into a fucking LOVE-TRIANGLE plot, it's lost its originality!"

"Yeah, we need more ACTION in those kinds of movies! More bloody violence, and brawls, and gory-"

"Hey, there's the house!" Pin interrupted, ending the rant. "Shall we go in?"

"Sure… What does the kid look like?" Jimmy asked.

"I traced to his facebook page. He's the guy with the zits, thin mustache, and glasses." Izzy replied.

They broke into the house and found the kid's bedroom… seeing a brown-green skinned creature sitting at the computer, while the kid mentioned was asleep. "Oh, shit!" the troll gasped, turning off the computer. "I-I wasn't pulling up anything immoral, honest!"

"Are you the guy who keeps flaming people on Youtube?" Pin demanded.

"So what if I am, fuck-head?"

"Yep, he's the one," Blu sneered.

"Wait-wait-WAIT… You mean the Youtube Troll is an actual _troll?" _Danny gasped.

"You got a problem with that, fag?" The troll snapped.

"We've got a problem with you hacking into someone's computer and using it to flame me!" Blu snapped, drawing a knife. "So, you want to step outside and settle our flame-war face-to-face, or are you too much of a coward?"

"Bring it, bitch!" The troll then increased in size. The kid in bed stirred a bit.

"Uh, maybe we should step outside, so we don't wake anyone and cause a scene?" Rudy suggested.

"Up yours, fucker!" The troll smacked him across the room into Wolf.

"That's it! I'm pissed!" Wolf snarled, then summoned his power and blasted the troll.

Everyone then leaped at him at once, stabbing, punching, clawing, biting, and just all-out beating the shit out of him, until he shrank down to normal size. Izzy then tied him up. "You're under arrest for computer hacking and spamming," she said.

"Oh, go to-" The troll began, until Blu stuffed a sweat-sock into its mouth.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Once the troll was taken care of, Rudy and Danny went home and crawled back into bed, both of them sharing one tonight. "Well, that was a strange night…" Danny yawned.

"Yeah… I'm just glad it's over," Rudy said, snuggling close.

*CRASH!*

Izzy broke through the window. "Get your shoes on, boys! We've got a cat-burglar in the area!" she exclaimed. "An ACTUAL cat-burglar!"

Danny and Rudy groaned, collapsing in bed.

0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: Long live randomness! 8D

Please review. …Considering what just happened to the troll, you should think twice before flaming.


	13. Worry No More

Okay, peeps, here's a new one-shot. I'm in a fluffy mood so expect… (fluffy puppy runs by) *woof!* …Fluff.

**Reviewer Thanks**

**Scoobycool9: **(Now if only the same thing could happen to the rest of the trolls on Youtube). Randomness rules!

This one takes place a little while after "Three Boys, Three Problems".

0o0o0o0o0o0

I ran as fast as I could, racing down the hall and up the stairs. I could hear the door downstairs slam shut, knowing that Chris and Chrys were home… and more pissed than they had ever been in their whole lives, thus the reason why I was running for my life, seeking a safe place to hide until my parents got home… or my new friend, Danny.

Danny was a prince who we adopted into our family a couple months ago, after a madman killed his parents, trying to take over his kingdom. Along the way we met a werewolf, a talking cat, and a rebel… all who were living in my neighborhood now, though Silver and Radio (the werewolf and cat) were human now. …It's a long story.

During our trip, I had told them about how Chris and Chrys always abused me, and they finally convinced me to tell my parents, who were shocked and immediately signed the twins up for an anger-management class, all the while giving them a month's worth of chores for every bruise they ever gave me.

They had been gone all weekend with the class on a therapeutic escape out into a field, where they could be at peace and find their inner calm… if they even had one. I had been hanging out with Jimmy, Danny, and Radio, all of us finally managing to enjoy ourselves after a traumatizing experience, and I never thought much about what the twins' would be like once they got back.

Until I got a call that morning from Chris. "You think you've solved your problem with us, but you're wrong," he had said, darkly.

"When we get home, you're going to regret ever ratting us out," Chrys added.

"Mom and Dad have a dinner-date with Dad's boss and his wife…"

"Which means you'll be home with us…"

"We're going to mess you up…"

"Make you wish you had been killed by that psycho…"

"And not even your little prince can save you," they said in unison, then hung up.

I was panicking now, since they had come home. Mom and Dad were out now, and Danny had gone with Silver to the bank to file some documents about Danny's inheritance and Silver's old account, and Jimmy and Radio were on a bike-ride (the rebel was giving her lessons… I'd give her some, but after an incident involving Danny being on the handlebars and me hitting a rock and swerving, Radio probably wouldn't want to take any chances).

Point is, I was alone, and in my desperate attempt to hide, I ran to the room I feared most in our house: The attic.

Chris and Chrys had fed me horror stories about the attic, which plagued my mind with nightmares, and I had always been afraid to go up in it… but right now it was either facing some ghost or the wrath of the twins, and frankly, being around a ghost was a lot less frightening.

I raced into the attic. It was pitch-black except for some moonlight shining through the window. I heard Chris and Chrys coming up the stairs and ducked to hide behind an old chair, just as they opened the door and came in. "Where are you, fag?" Chris shouted.

"You know you can't hide from us," Chrys added, looking behind a couple old boxes. "We always find you…"

"And when we do, we'll make sure no one else will." They said in unison… and it was easy to guess what they meant.

I started to crawl behind a box… but my knee slid over a loose board.

*creeeeaaaaak!*

The twins turned, and Chris threw the chair to the side while Chrys grabbed me by the shirt and shoved me into the corner. "Now you're dead…" they said.

I shielded my face with my arms, tears running down my face, bracing myself for my newest injury, and what I felt was something they had never done to me before…

A hand caressing my face.

My eyes shot open, and I noticed I was in my room, not the attic; in my bed, not huddled in some corner; by Danny, not the twins. "Rudy, are you alright?" he asked in a whisper.

"Yeah… Just a nightmare," I replied, relaxing a bit.

"I could tell. You were crying in your sleep again."

I sighed. All weekend I had nightmares about the twins ganging up on me and killing me, waking up each night in tears, discovered by Danny. "I'm sorry I woke you,"

"What do you keep dreaming about?"

"The twins, what else? Ever since they went off on that anger-management retreat, I've been worried about what they might do once they come back… They were pretty mad when I told Mom and Dad, remember?"

Danny put a hand on my shoulder. "Rudy. It'll be okay. They're getting help, and your parents said that if they ever harmed you again in ANY way, they'd send them to juvenile hall… And Radio had brought up sicking Jimmy on them, and Silver calling Izzy to give them a cell at Pent Towers by passing them off as evil doppelgangers."

"Yeah… but what if they got me when no one else was around?"

Danny shook his head. "I doubt they'd try to kill you Rudy, if that's what you're thinking… Especially after what we've been through. Don't you remember how worried Chrys was when Jacque captured all of us? She really cares about you, and wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you. And Chris may be a jerk-off, but he'd strangle anyone who'd try to hurt you, too… Believe me, I know."

I understood. Chris and Chrys had believed that Danny had kidnapped me and was trying to kill me… and that was the first time they actually showed that they cared about me. I pulled my knees up to my chest, sighing once more. "Then why did THEY beat me up for so long, and make fun of me being a homosexual? …Is that it? Because I'm gay?"

"That would be discrimination. They could have just been like those older siblings who like to bully their younger siblings and be in control. When they heard you were in danger, they stopped being bullies and wanted to make sure you were alright."

I hugged my legs tight. "I'm just scared that they'll go back to abusing me when no one's around…"

"Then that's when you tell someone. After all that we've been through, you shouldn't be afraid of any threats they'd make if you told on them. Plus, I'm living with you now, so there WILL be a witness. If you don't tell, I will… and we'd convince Jimmy to be a bodyguard."

I chuckled a bit, and he put an arm around me.

"It'll be okay… Your siblings may pick on you, but they won't hurt you anymore. Even if they wanted to, they wouldn't get away with it."

I smiled, hugging him back. Sure, it would seem weird to someone to see one teenage boy hugging another, and they'd probably even laugh or think of it being girly… though I do have the emotions of a girl, and Danny never said anything against it. (Jimmy, on the other hand…)

He kept his arm around me and we lied back down. I kept close to him, listening to his soft breathing as it played to the rhythm of his heartbeat, his body warming mine, and I slowly drifted to sleep in his arms.

I wasn't plagued by any nightmares that night, and my worries were decreased with my friend at my side.

0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: Like I said, fluffy. I'll get a new Blu-shot up later… any fairytale requests?


	14. Make A Wish

GOOD SWEET HEAVENLY FATHER ABOVE! I can't BELIEVE I haven't updated this! I've been trying to get to it, I really have! But… life was just getting stressful and I lost inspiration! I am SO SORRY!

Well, after what appeared to be an eternity, here's a new Blu-Shot at last… for those of you who are still alive. (Requested by Scoobycool9)

**Reviewers Who I Have Remembered To Thank**

**ElizabethTheAwesomeOtaku: **I knew you'd enjoy the troll hunt ^-^ And yes, I love to include a few twists here and there… plus, you never know if there really ARE actual trolls lurking through the web (eyes shift mysteriously)

**Scoobycool9: **Thanks for the suggestion, and glad you enjoyed the fluff.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jacob Geppetto was a kind boy, kinder than any person in the entire world. He had a gentle side, and wanted to lift anyone's spirits when they were feeling down- no matter how much the other boys made fun of him for being a sissy… though perhaps it was out of jealousy, since all the girls found it heart-melting that there was a young man who cared so much for others.

And young Susan was the one to notice it first-hand as a child, when Geppetto helped her out in Junior High. "Thanks for walking me home, Jake." She told him as he carried her books, like any young gentleman would do. "If you hadn't told Cinder that Crimson stole her shoe and had her call in her Fairy Godmother to handle him, I'd never have gotten away from him."

Jacob shrugged. "Well, I hate seeing someone pressure a nice girl like yourself into going out with him. You've already told him no once… maybe even twenty-three times this week, so he should have gotten the message." He said, then frowned a bit. "I'm just sorry I had to lie. I'll be cleaning the gym floor for months for it,"

"You did it to help me. He had me backed into a corner, remember? I'm glad you got Cinder to tackle him and beat him with her other high-heel."

"I just hate having to lie. I can't stand liars, and I'm more comfortable with being honest."

"And there's no problem with that. Tell you what, for putting you through it, I'll do you a huge favor, to show how much I appreciate what you've done."

Jacob blushed. "There's no need… really."

"Are you kidding? That creep's been stalking me since 4th Grade. I'll pay you back, I promise. You name it, I'll do it."

"Well, I can't really think of anything right now…"

"If you think of something, let me know. I really owe you."

0o0o0o0o0o0

_25 years later…_

Geppetto was as kind as a man as he was a boy, if not more. Being such a gentleman, he happily married to a beautiful woman, and owned a shop full of wooden, hand-crafted toys he had carved and precious stuffed animals his wife had sewn. His specialty was puppets, music boxes, and even wooden mugs with faces or scenery carved around them. His wife loved making teddy bears, especially blue ones, and little stuffed wolves. Kids always dragged their parents into the store to either play with the toys- which Geppetto didn't mind at all- or the parents would shop there for birthday, Christmas, or souvenir gifts.

Alas, the business slowed down after Geppetto's wife died from growing too ill, and the old man felt sorrow, for not only did he lose his love, but also they never had the chance to have children. Some would say that, out of sorrow, he gave away all his puppets for they reminded him too much of his wife and the children they could have had… that, or they were taking up too much space on the shelves.

One night, however, he was lacking sleep due to his daydreams of being a father. _I wonder what it would have been like if I DID have a son…_ he thought. His imagination getting the best of him, he went to his workshop and started carving.

He wanted the puppet to look perfect, having his wife's smooth black hair and beautiful brown eyes, an innocent face like he had as a child, and a smile that would make even an angel's heart melt. He walked over to a trunk where he had kept all the clothes his wife had sewn to fit his puppets, only to see that all that was left was a shirt, bowtie, shorts, shoes, a pair of suspenders and a hat with a feather in it. It wasn't the most charming outfit, but it was better than leaving the puppet in the nude.

Soon he was done. "Now, you need a name," he said, rubbing his chin. "I will call you… Pinocchio, after my wife's maiden name."

He looked out the window then, seeing a star that glowed brighter than the others. Everyone in Fairytale Land called it the Wishing Star, and that if you quietly made a wish upon it, all your dreams would come true… at least, that's what a hobo living in an alley had said. (Everyone thought he was just talking crazy until he ended up winning the lottery).

Geppetto kneeled before the star, bowing his head. "The only thing I wish for is for my sorrow to lift, and remember that my wife is in a peaceful place now… and that someday, I will have a real son, like the one I have carved. Maybe even have Pinocchio become a real boy. It would mean so much to have a child of my own to love and teach,"

Unbeknownst to him, his wish was heard by an old friend. When Geppetto left the room to go to bed, light shimmered into the room, and the Blue Fairy appeared… with a five-year-old girl beside her. "This is what you do, Mommy?" the little girl asked.

"Yes, Blu. I help grant wishes to those who make a wish upon my star- only if they deserve them," Susan answered, smiling. "Geppetto is a kind man and never asked for anything… And I do owe him a favor. I think the best thing I can do for him is to grant his wish, and turn his puppet into a real boy."

Blu grimaced. "Ew, I wouldn't do that. Boys are gross, and are always breaking things, and they're always pulling pranks and always blame stuff. Like how Ricky Johnson keeps saying the Big Bad Wolf ate his homework,"

Susan thought about this. Boys did tend to be boisterous, and often became worse as they got older- and she wanted Geppetto's son to be as kind and sweet as his father was. "They're only that way if they don't have the proper guidance and learn right from wrong. I think there's a way we can handle that."

Taking out her wand, she tapped the puppet's head, and suddenly he blinked, shifting a bit. "What happened?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. "I had this dream I was standing in a forest, and this huge burly guy came at me with a chainsaw, and… when did I grow _hands_?!"

Susan chuckled. "You're no longer a tree, Pinocchio. You're a puppet now… and soon you'll be a real boy."

Pinocchio cocked his head. "Are you talking to me? Who are you?"

"I'm the Blue Fairy, and this is my daughter, Blu. The man who made you made a wish upon my star to turn you into a real boy."

"So… I'm human now?"

"You're still made of wood, of course not!" Blu answered.

"(Blu, be nice) You're still a puppet, but there's a way for you to become a real boy." Susan told him. "You must learn right from wrong, always do the right thing, and let your conscience be your guide."

"What's a conscience?" Pinocchio asked, curiously.

"You know that weird little voice in the back of your head that keeps telling you not to do something you know is bad? That's a conscience." Blu told him.

"Oh… okay."

"Who's down there?" came Geppetto's voice.

"Time to go," Susan whispered. "Remember what I said, Pinocchio. Listen to your conscience."

"Aw, Mom, can't we stay?" Blu begged. "I want to see Geppetto get scared out of his pants!"

Susan laughed, and they disappeared, just as Geppetto walked into the room. "That's odd…" he said, scratching his head. "I could have sworn I heard someone in here…"

"Oh, there was. They just left," Pinocchio told him.

Geppetto gasped, turning to the puppet. "Did… did you just… speak?"

"Yes. I'm Pinocchio… are you my dad?"

Geppetto blinked. "Well… yes, yes I am. Is this a dream? Someone pinch me,"

"Okay." Pinocchio pinched his arm.

"Yeow! …Well, I'm not dreaming. How did you come to life?"

"The Blue Fairy said you wished upon a star, and she told me I could become a real boy as long as I listened to my conscience and learned right from wrong… and then her daughter said something about you jumping out of your pants."

Geppetto looked out the window at the star. "Dreams do come true after all…"

"So… what are we going to do first?"

"Well… I suppose, first, we should get some sleep. I'll teach you everything tomorrow."

"Okay."

Geppetto carried Pinocchio upstairs, lying him in bed. If he had lived on the outside world, he'd think he had gone crazy, that he was imagining the whole thing… but in the land where fairytales were real, it was as real as can be.

"Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight… my son." Geppetto answered, smiling as they both fell asleep.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are….. (awkward stares from audience) Oh like YOU weren't thinking the same thing!

Please review. I take suggestions, but flames will cause you to get your butt kicked.


	15. The Prince and the Pauper, Pin's Style

Not gonna let this go on an extended hiatus again. On with a new one-shot!

**Reviewer Thanks**

**ElizabethTheAwesomeOtaku: ***hands you coffee* All pieces can be fit back together; Ah, don't be so hard on yourself. I actually like it when my reviewers act nutty- it helps inspire me ^-^

**Scoobycool9 and Luckycool9: **Irony, not so much. Coincidence? Possibly; And I think I mentioned the tale of Sleeping Beauty in my "Blu Meets the Boys" story.

_This next shot takes place a year after Blu Meets the Boys, before the start of Three Men, Three Problems._

0o0o0o0o0o0

Pin sat in the tree, overlooking the castle of Snow White, wondering how the princess was doing. It was something to find out she had a long-lost nephew and sister, both who had moved away back to her late twin-sister's kingdom in order to help Danny (her nephew) learn how to become king. It was remarkable how easily he could spot the resemblance between Snow White and Danny- same raven black hair, same fair skin, same beautiful features- almost like how easily it was to tell that Jimmy and Blu were cousins.

What surprised him most was how he and Danny looked exactly alike… and the shock he got when Rudy had mistaken him for the young prince and kissed him on the lips during their recent mishap- a memory he had been trying to ignore, though it didn't help that he and Blu had some physical similarities as well (both having short blonde hair, being a tad short for their ages, not to mention Rudy sort of looked like a girl). It was actually quite symbolic- he and Danny looked alike and loved two people who looked alike (only difference was his love-interest was female).

It had been a year since they all had encountered Anchantor and took down the evil werewolf Diablo AND had a corrupt mayor arrested (it had been a busy two weeks), and yet Pin still couldn't stop thinking of the boys. He had seen Rose Red, the mayor and Danny's aunt, drop by every week in order to take care of her duties in town, yet never thought to ask her how the boys were doing.

_Maybe I'll go talk to her. She should be back by now, _he thought, climbing down the tree and walking to the cottage by the eastern stream, where she resided. _It would be nice to know how our new friends are doing, anyway._

He knocked on the door and she answered, wearing casual clothes. "Oh, hello, Pin. Something going on in town?" she asked. "Any new attacks, beasts running amuck, gnomes embezzling money?"

"No, just came to visit, if you have time." Pin answered as she let him in.

She chuckled. "I wish I did. Apparently, since I'm so absent from Fairytale Land lately, I've been so busy. I've tried working outside the land, but it's hard to do that AND help out Danny."

"How's he doing, anyway?"

Red Rose gave a heavy sigh. "Not so good. He and Rudy were having trouble in determining their relationship, and at the end of the school year he never decided how he truly feels, and they haven't spoken to each other in a while. He's been feeling overworked too, in his practices, and needs a break… which I can really understand, especially after-" she paused.

"After… what?"

"After… an assassination attempt. One of the servants had tried poisoning him, but we don't know who it was. Everything's been under lockdown, and he's growing paranoid. He really wants out of the castle."

Pin rubbed his chin, pondering. "Have you tried finding him a bodyguard?"

"I've tried asking Ben, but he's busy training knights at Camelot; Silver's been trying to help out Blu; Jimmy's in college… The 12 Huntresses are trying to get a lead on Anthony Putsenbutes, and Puss… well I think the outside people would find it odd having a cat guard someone."

"Hey, it would lower the assassin's expectations… Maybe I could help out."

"You, Pin?"

"Sure. I've trained with the 12 Huntresses, I've helped take down numerous villains…" he looked into the mirror. "And I have an idea to capture that assassin…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Danny stood on the balcony, brooding. "You find something fizzing in your drink that kills the taste-tester, and suddenly you're under lockdown," he muttered. "Like we can't hire a detective or anything to figure out who did it…"

He looked out at the horizon, where a large forest spread out. Right beyond it was the town he had lived since he was 14, where he had the chance to live like a normal kid and go to a regular school, having made friends AND didn't have to deal with the pressures of royalty… all the while find a land full of enchantment, try to survive attacks from a mad sorcerer, vile werewolf, and a corrupt mayor who was related to the same madman who killed his parents.

…and where he almost fell in love with his best friend, only to end up crushing his heart. When he wasn't dealing with his lessons or the nagging from his chambermaid, Rothberta, he was wondering how his friend was doing, and if he'd ever speak to him again. He had written several letters, sent hundreds and thousands of emails and text messages, explaining how his feelings were still in a jumble and how sorry he was for hurting his feelings, but no reply ever came.

_If only I could go out and visit our hometown, just to meet him and make things right… _he thought. Danny looked up, seeing the first evening star twinkling. He had remembered something about Wolf having the powers of the Blue Fairy, and could grant wishes upon his star. _I wish I could go back to town and find Rudy…_

"Danny, pack your bags. You're taking a vacation," Red Rose announced, walking out onto the balcony.

Danny blinked, looking up at the star. "Geez, Wolf works fast!" he commented, then turned to his aunt. "What's going on?"

"Come with me,"

Red Rose lead him back inside, where he saw Pin standing in his room… dressed like him! "Hi, Danny, how have you been?" he asked.

"Fine what's going on?" Danny said quickly, arching an eyebrow.

"Pin, you tell him," Red Rose said, then walked out. "I'm going to make sure Rothberta doesn't barge in."

Pin handed Danny a set of his clothes. "I heard about how you needed a break, and about the assassin. I figured we could switch places- you can get out of the castle, and I'll track down your assassin." He said.

Danny looked at him. "But… aren't you worried about your own life?"

Pin scoffed. "Dan, I've fought trolls, ogres, evil fairies and sorcerers, werewolves, and crazy fan-girls. My entire life has been filled with danger since I was a puppet! Compared to all that, this is like a tropic getaway."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright… Well, thank you for doing this."

"Don't thank me just yet. Now hurry up and get my clothes on,"

Danny slipped on Pin's cloak and hat, looking at himself in the mirror. "I feel like Van Helsing."

"It'll help you slip out unrecognized. You can change when you get into town,"

Danny nodded then walked out, where Red Rose snuck him to her vehicle and drove down the road. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Pin's one of the best. I doubt he'll have any problems," Red Rose answered.

Pin, in the meantime, lied down in Danny's large, comfortable bed, grinning a bit. _I've always wanted to live like a royal. _He thought. _This is going to be awesome._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_The Next Day… Around 5 AM…_

"Your majesty, time to get up!" came a voice, and Pin opened his eyes, seeing an elderly woman walking into the room. She opened the curtains, showing the sun wasn't even up yet. "You have another busy day ahead of you. Your breakfast will be ready within the next half hour, plenty of time for you to shower and get dressed; after breakfast are your dance lessons, followed by your fencing practice; you and your aunt have a meeting with the Duke of Alshire on a trading agreement, followed by a buffet lunch; afterward you are to turn to your studies in the library; you also have a courting session with the princess of Dela; and dinner will be served at seven again, rather than six."

Pin sat up, rubbing his eye. "Say that again?" he said in a yawn… and was suddenly ushered out of bed. "Whoa!"

"No time to chat. And I had told you before that it is impolite to yawn while speaking." She shoved him into the bathroom. "Now, hurry on. You've already wasted two minutes."

Pin blinked. _What the Helsing was all that about? _He thought, then shrugged, climbing into the shower. _Oh, well. It's just a few lessons. How bad could it-_

He froze then, and stuck his head out of the curtain. "Did she say 'courting session'?" he questioned.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_10:00 AM, in town…_

Danny sat up, smiling a bit. It had been a while since he had the chance to sleep in past sunrise, let alone sleep in a bed that wasn't ten times his size. He had decided to stay in Silver's house, having a spare key (Rudy had been asked to look after it and had given him a key, in case he ever wanted to drop by). To his dismay, Rudy wasn't there, and the prince figured he was still at college… after all, it was only Thursday.

He got out of bed and decided to take a walk into town. He got dressed, enjoying being able to wear regular clothing once again, rather than a formal attire that cut off his circulation (especially that corset Rothberta made him wear, up until he passed out and convinced the chambermaid that it was unnecessary).

He poured himself a bowl of cereal. It had been a while since he had something simple, rather than an all-out buffet with every kind of breakfast imaginable.

Once finished, he walked outside, grinning as he walked around. No walls surrounded him, no guards followed him… In the first time in a year, he felt free.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Pin would have enjoyed breakfast… if he could breathe. _I didn't think a suit could be so uncomfortable, _he thought, shifting as he walked down the hallway to meet with the Duke of Alshire. He stood at the doorway, taking a deep breath. _Posture. Just try to keep your posture._

He walked in, sitting next to Red Rose, who sat across from the Duke. "Ah, Prince Daniel, so nice to finally meet you," the Duke said, shaking his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you as well," Pin replied, sitting back down.

"Now, I'd like to discuss our trading agreement. My kingdom has been working with your kingdom for years, having been on hiatus until the kingdom was rebuilt after… (ahem) well, I don't want to bring up the matter. As you know, we've used the traditional eastern route, yet lately our shipment has been slowing down by a week due to shipping errors. What would you make of it?"

Pin looked at the documents in front of him. "Well, lets look at the errors," he said, taking a look at a map marked with the route. "It seems like you're route could be the problem. There's too many cities in the route, which are normally full of traffic. My advice would be to take the highway- it's longer, but easier to travel on."

"Seems plausible, but there are other errors. Most of the materials we trade come in twice as less as we expect,"

Pin looked over the document. "What amount did you recently put down for?"

"Roughly 10,000 dollars worth,"

"Well, it says here you put it down for 1,000. It's all because of a typo,"

The Duke took out his glasses, looking at the document. "I see…"

"We'll have a talk with who handled the records last, and make sure it doesn't happen again," Red Rose assured.

"Quite alright. To ere is human, as they say,"

The Duke and Red Rose spoke more about the trading business for another two hours, when it was finally time for lunch. By that time, Pin was nearly starving._ Not so bad, so far… _he thought, feeling proud of himself. _I might just be able to pull this off!_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_4 PM…_

Danny sat in front of the television, watching movies on television, seeing they were showing a marathon of the Harry Potter franchise. He smiled, remembering seeing the first part of The Deathly Hallows last year with Rudy and Radio, finding it ironic that they had a run in with a sorcerer right after.

The prince sighed then. Part Two of the final movie was showing that year, and he and his friends had planned on seeing it together during a weekend when they were all home… but he knew it wouldn't happen, not since Jimmy accidentally revealed his wolf-ears and had to leave for Fairytale Land with Radio and Silver. Rudy, though…

He took out his cell phone, trying to call him, only to get a voice-mail. "Hey, Rudy. It's Danny…" he said, awkwardly. "Just want you to know that I'm in town for a few days, if you want to hang out. Call me back when you get the chance,"

He hung up, looking at the screen, then decided to change the channel.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"And then she was like, 'No way, he was looking at me,' and I was all, 'Uh, no way, he was looking at me,' and she was like, 'I'm going to ask him out,' and I said, 'Bitch, you can't ask him out,' and she scoffed and was all, 'Why not?', and I told her, 'Because he's your cousin, you retard,' and then she blew up and started making fun of my outfit. Seriously? She was going to try to have an incest relationship, and she's talking shit about my style? I was all, 'Oh hell no', and then…"

Pin tried not to space off, but the princess he had to court with obviously didn't know how to shut up. She was fifteen, and apparently didn't know much about being royalty as she did about being a diva. He started thinking about Blu, wishing she were here- at least she'd find a way to get a word in.

Finally, he couldn't listen to any more. "Uh, I have to go. I have another appointment," Pin said quickly, standing up and heading for the door.

"What? But your chambermaid said you had the next three hours booked!" The princess scoffed.

"Something just came back. Nice meeting you!" he then ran out, rushing around the corner. He looked at the clock, seeing he did, indeed, have three hours to spare. _Time to look for that assassin, _he thought, and headed down the corridor, deciding to check the kitchen, first.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was midnight, and Danny was still awake. It felt weird, being on his own after so long, and Rudy still hadn't returned his call. _He'll call back, I'm sure, _he told himself. _It's been a year, he should have gotten over it by now… right?_

Sighing, he decided to head to bed. Tomorrow was Friday, so hopefully he'd see his friend in the afternoon.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Pin hadn't even gotten started on his search when the chambermaid, Rothberta, caught up to him and chewed him out for dissing the princess, let alone scolded him for being late to dinner. He was then sent back to his room afterwards around 9 to go to bed, but refused to sleep. _There's still that assassin matter abroad… and I'm not going to rest until I take care of it. _He told himself, then walked out of his room, nodding to the guards. "Just going to take an evening walk, gentlemen." He told them.

Halfway down the hall, he realized they were following him.

"Um, I'd like to be alone,"

"I'm afraid we can't do that, your highness. We have strict orders in staying at your side, until the assassin is caught." One of the guards told him.

Pin sighed heavily. _At this rate, I won't get anything done. _He thought.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_The Next Day…_

Danny had slept in until noon, and checked his phone messages.

Zilch.

Sighing, he got up, deciding to skip breakfast and get dressed, taking another walk around town. He passed by Rudy's house, thinking about going in and saying hi, but noticed no one was home.

"This vacation is turning out less eventful than I thought it would be…" Danny said to himself.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Pin walked into his room after lunch, feeling as if he had done a week's worth of lessons in one day. "Since when does a prince have to learn how to drive a motorcycle around an obstacle course?" he questioned. "It's not like anyone would let me take a ride anytime, soon."

He lied down on the bed, deciding to rest, just for a few minutes…

"Your majesty, it's time for your anthropology lesson!" came Rothberta's voice. "You can sleep later,"

_Anthropology?! _Pin thought, letting out a muffled groan.

"And what have I told you about groaning?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Danny got on the computer, chatting with Jimmy later that afternoon on Facebook.

_Danny Charmm: How's it going?_

_Jimmy Krook: Hey, look who found time to chat. Not bad, Princess. _

_Danny Charmm: Ha ha, glad to see you haven't changed (sarcasm). How's Radio and Silver? What's college like in Fairytale Land? Have you've heard from Rudy lately?_

_Jimmy Krook: Easy with the questions, Charmm. Rad and Silver are doing good, and college ain't too different from the outside world, unless you count the mystical creatures. Haven't heard from Rude-Boy in a while_

_Danny Charmm: Okay._

He sighed. So Rudy hadn't been talking to Jimmy, either.

_Jimmy Krook: How's the royal life?_

_Danny Charmm: Same as it was when I was a kid- a pain in the neck. Finally managed to get some time to myself, though._

_Jimmy Krook: Really? Didn't think that was possible. What did you do, have a clone stand in for you?_

_Danny Charmm: Ha ha, good one._

He had to chuckle a bit… since it was true.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Pin had fallen asleep early that night immediately after lunch. It had only been his second day, and already he was exhausted. _The next time someone says royals have it easy, I'm going to punch their lights out… _he told himself. _No, that wouldn't be decent… I'll have Blu do it, instead._

*creak*

He sat up, hearing a noise in the wall, followed by footsteps. Any outsider would have been startled, figuring it was their imagination or the building settling, but he had experienced situations like this before.

There was a secret passage somewhere… and someone was using it.

Climbing out of bed and grabbing his gear hidden under the bed, he felt along the walls, tapping until he felt a follow spot right next to the dresser. _I wonder… _he thought, then moved the dresser, seeing it was blocking a small doorway. "Bingo," he whispered, pushing the door open and walking in, going in the direction he heard the footsteps going, creeping into the darkness in front of him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Danny called Rudy one more time, once again getting voicemail.

"Rudy, it's me again… How have you been? College must be keeping you busy- I could understand that, since my lessons have been keeping me occupied, but I've got time off now." He began. He didn't know whether he should have mentioned the assassin, but he was desperate to get a response. "Turns out someone in the castle has been trying to kill me, and Pin came and switched places with me in order to find out who it is. I hope things are going better for you than they are for me…" he began to wince, rubbing his face. "Please… Please call me back, Rudy. I really miss you. I know things didn't go so well after graduation, and I want you to know I'm-"

*beep*

His time had run out, having filled the entire message. He looked at his phone, biting his bottom lip.

"…sorry," he whispered.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Two servants stood in a secret room, a document sitting in front of them. "So here's the plan," one of them whispered. "We change the amount to 100 this time, and send the other amount to Japan like we planned,"

"Yes, we'll make an exchange for materials for weaponry, and sell it on the underground black market to foreign spies," the other servant added. "We'll become rich, and make our getaway, leaving the blame on the kingdom when it's too late for them to stop an oncoming war between the nations."

"All we have to do is get rid of that little prince. His death will keep everyone devastated long enough for us to make our shipments… "

"Then, we'll be living like royals ourselves in the tropics, while the kingdom has to worry about war. And no one will suspect a thing!"

"…not unless you keep explaining your ideas out loud where someone can hear you,"

"What the…?" The first servant spun around, getting a fist in the face. The second looked over, only to get kicked in the jaw. Their heads were bonked together, and they fell unconscious.

Pin pulled them out into the secret hallway, which lead to the kitchen. He then knocked over utensils, pans, spices, and dishes, making a mess and putting a frying pan and a broken dish in both the servants' hands. He then grabbed the documents, spilling them on the floor, then ran out into the hall. "Guards! Come quick!" he called.

Two guards, along with Red Rose and Rothberta, ran in. "Goodness! What happened?" Red Rose gasped.

"I heard footsteps in the walls and found a secret passage. I followed it down to the kitchen where I heard these two plotting to kill me AND use an underground trade with Japan, in order to make weapons for foreign spies and set the kingdom at war," Pin answered. "The proof is in the documents, they've been stealing shipments, and planned on killing me as a distraction so no one would realize they were selling them overseas. Suddenly, they got into a dispute over how to split the money, and knocked each other out…"

"Guards, take these men away!" Rothberta sneered, then turned to Pin. "Normally I'd question why you didn't have the guards look into the secret passage for you, but considering you were unharmed and our assassins have been captured, I suppose I could spare you a discussion. However, I would recommend you not try to handle things on your own again," With that, she walked out.

Red Rose rolled her eyes, then turned to Pin. "So… why didn't you take the credit in beating those creeps?" she whispered.

Pin shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't be something for a prince to do," he answered.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Red Rose had told the servants she would be taking 'Danny' with her for the weekend, to let him get a break after all that had happened. She stopped in town, where she met the real prince at Silver's house. "Your kingdom is safe now," Pin told him as they exchanged clothes. "And you have an extra two days to relax,"

"Thank you," Danny said, sighing.

"What's wrong? I figured, after having two days away from all those lessons and that nagging chambermaid, you'd be happy,"

"I am, but…" Danny looked at his phone. No messages. "I was expecting more out of it,"

"Yeah, I was expecting to live the easy life… but I suppose I belong back in the land where I came from, with the ones I love."

"Yeah… I guess I'll be going back soon, too. Thank you again for standing in for me,"

Pin nodded and started walking out.

Danny sighed, sitting down on the couch, his face in his hands.

"Oh, almost forgot… this was sitting in the mail slot. One of the servants said it was sent to the wrong address and gave it to me," Pin said, handing him a letter.

Danny looked at the envelope, his eyes widening at the return address, and he quickly ripped it open, reading it as slowly as possible, so not to miss a single word…

_Dear Danny,_

_How's life in the castle? I wish I could visit you, but I've been busy looking into colleges. I met some new guys named Drake, Derek, and Bartholomew ('Mew' being his nickname), they seem pretty nice. Drake and Derek are twins… and for some reason, they kind of remind me of Izzy._

_I'm writing by letter because my cell phone bill didn't get paid and it got shut off for a while, and my laptop caught a virus and wiped out my entire hard-drive and I wasn't able to get a new one for a few months, so please don't be upset if I haven't responded lately._

_I would have responded sooner, but… I was scared, because I'm still in love with you. I know you may not feel the same way, but I still love you very much, and I keep praying that you're doing okay and that we can meet again. I wasn't sure if you wanted to hear from me, until I managed to finally read your emails and messages, and I've gone through several sheets of paper trying to find a way to explain my feelings._

_I'm going to be looking into another college next weekend, hopefully I'll get accepted. If I do, I probably won't have much time to reply, but I'll try to be on as much as I can, just so you don't get worried. Hope we'll meet again soon._

_Love, Rudy_

Danny stared at the letter for a while, seeing from the dateline written on the top it had been sent a year ago. He bit his bottom lip, shedding a tear.

Pin had walked out, letting the prince have some time alone. What he didn't want to admit was, he had found the letter in the trash can in the kitchen when they had arrived.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: For a happier ending, read 'Three Men, Three Problems'.

Well, there! I had Danny and Pin pull a Prince and the Pauper. A fairytale that Blu hasn't told, which she can now tell again. …God forbid Pin's fan-girls will go after Danny, next.


End file.
